Joyce Hwee Ling Koh

Review on teaching and learning of computational thinking through programming

Programming can help foster computational thinking (CT).Lack of programming-related studies for K-12 despite increased interest.Future studies can focus on intervention in regular classroom setting.Examine programming process with think-aloud protocol and on-screen recording.Explore activities supporting computational perspectives and practices. Programming is more than just coding, for, it exposes students to computational thinking which involves problem-solving using computer science concepts like abstraction and decomposition. Even for non-computing majors, computational thinking is applicable and useful in their daily lives. The three dimensions of computational thinking are computational concepts, computational practices and computational perspectives. In recent years, the availability of free and user-friendly programming languages has fuelled the interest of researchers and educators to explore how computational thinking can be introduced in K-12 contexts. Through an analysis of 27 available intervention studies, this paper presents the current trends of empirical research in the development of computational thinking through programming and suggests possible research and instructional implications. From the review, we propose that more K-12 intervention studies centering on computational practices and computational perspectives could be conducted in the regular classroom. To better examine these two dimensions, students could be asked to verbalize their thought process using think aloud protocol while programming and their on-screen programming activity could be captured and analyzed. Predetermined categories based on both past and recent programming studies could be used to guide the analysis of the qualitative data. As for the instructional implication, it is proposed that a constructionism-based problem-solving learning environment, with information processing, scaffolding and reflection activities, could be designed to foster computational practices and computational perspectives.

Examining the technological pedagogical content knowledge of Singapore pre-service teachers with a large-scale survey

This paper examined the profile of Singaporean pre-service teachers in terms of their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). A total of 1185 pre-service teachers were studied with a TPACK survey. An exploratory factor analysis found five distinctive constructs: technological knowledge, content knowledge, knowledge of pedagogy, knowledge of teaching with technology and knowledge from critical reflection. The participants of this study did not make conceptual distinctions between TPACK constructs such as technological content knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge. There were some differences in their TPACK perceptions by gender. However, the influence of age and teaching level were not strong. The methodological and theoretical implications for the development of TPACK surveys were discussed.

Teacher Professional Development for TPACK-21CL: Effects on Teacher ICT Integration and Student Outcomes

This article explicates the conception and evaluation of an information and communications technologies (ICT) professional development process for developing teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge for 21st century learning. The process emphasizes teachers’ prolonged engagement with peers and researchers in design teams. Supported by technological pedagogical content knowledge rubrics and technological pedagogical content knowledge design heuristics, the process enabled teachers to assess their current ICT lessons, set design goals, redesign, implement, and evaluate student learning outcomes, as well as reflect on their pedagogical practices. A year-long implementation study conducted with 37 teachers from a Singapore primary school who were organized into seven lesson design teams found that the process had positive effects on teachers’ confidence for technological pedagogical content knowledge for 21st century learning and lesson design practices. Five of the seven design teams were able to make pedagogical changes toward 21st century learning, and six of the teams realized improvement in student learning outcomes. The implications for teacher ICT professional development are discussed.

A survey to examine teachers’ perceptions of design dispositions, lesson design practices, and their relationships with technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

This study investigates 201 Singaporean teachers’ perceptions of their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), lesson design practices, and design dispositions through a survey instrument. Investigation of these constructs reveal important variables influencing teachers’ perceptions of TPACK which have not yet been explored. The confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis confirm the validity and reliability of the instrument. The structural equation model shows that the teachers’ perceptions of design dispositions (orientations towards design) and lesson design practices (approaches used for lesson design) have direct relationships with the teachers’ perceptions of TPACK. The results of this study show that to enhance teachers’ TPACK perceptions, teacher educators need to help teachers develop lesson design practices that support ideation and iteration. They also need to develop teachers’ design dispositions that are amenable to exploring and resolving conflicting lesson design ideas. Going beyond TPACK, understandings of teachers’ lesson design practices and design dispositions are important for teacher educators to better design professional development for integration of information and communications technology.

Students' Motivation and Teachers' Teaching Practices towards the Use of Blogs for Writing of Online Journals

This research paper explores students’ motivation and teachers’ teaching practices towards the writing of compositions in the conventional paper-based (paper and pencil) and the online blogs mode. Six classes of Grade 5 (224 students) and four English teachers in an elementary-level future school in Singapore were involved in this study. A total of four written assignments were given to the students – two conventional paper and pencil and two online blog-written assignments. No significant difference was found in students’ scores on these assignments. However, the submission rate for the conventional paper-based assignments was 93.8% as compared to 75% for the online blogs entries. Although both students and teachers in this study are savvy information communication technology users who have been exposed to one-to-one computing since Grade 1, the use of blogs for journal writing was not natural to both parties. Teachers found that it was more cumbersome to grade and give comments on students’ online blog posts via the online platform and likewise, students also faced issues with the submission of their online writing assignments. Some students quoted that they preferred writing via conventional paper and pencil mode, experienced network connection and technical issues, had poor time management, experienced forgetfulness and distraction from the computers and the Internet for not submitting their online writing assignments. This study also once again highlighted the importance of the teacher, as one out of the four teachers managed to get all her students to submit their writing assignments. The in-depth analysis of the interviews with the teachers and students, students’ perception survey, students’ performance in their writing tasks (both online and paper-based) and submission rates had revealed useful insights and considerations on the use of blogs to engage students in writing.

Developing Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Mathematics Knowledge (TPMK) to Build Students’ Capacity to Think and Communicate in Mathematics Classrooms

This chapter documents the Mathematics teachers’ creation of technological pedagogical mathematics knowledge (TPMK) for the infusion of an inquiry-based approach to support students’ communication of mathematical reasoning. The 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) approach was originally used in the school’s Science curriculum. This design project was initiated to explore the cross-disciplinary infusion of the 5E pedagogical approach into the school’s Mathematics curriculum. The goal is to address students’ weaknesses in articulating their mathematical reasoning and understanding. By documenting the teachers’ design processes, this chapter provides insights for educators and researchers on how usable TPMK can be created within a school-based context to address the specific learning challenges of students with relevant ICT tools. It also provides findings on how such kinds of pedagogy influences student learning.

A review of the quantitative measures of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

In 2005 Koehler and Mishra (2005) introduced the term Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK, currently referred to as TPACK) as a conceptual framework to describe the knowledge base for teachers to effectively teach with technology. Since then TPACK was embraced by many scholars and practitioners. This chapter’s reflections are based on developments in theoretical views on TPACK since its inception. An extensive review of the literature on TPACK (Voogt, Fisser, Pareja Roblin, Tondeur & van Braak, 2013) showed that the widespread use of the TPACK framework also has lead to different interpretations of the framework and questioned some of the underpinnings of TPACK. These different interpretations concern in particular on the way technology is understood and the nature of the knowledge that is communicated in the framework. We first use insights from the philosophy of technology to reflect on the implications of adding technology as a knowledge domain. Because TPACK aims to describe the knowledge base of teaching with technology, understandings on what teacher knowledge is and how this can be developed is addressed next. Finally we elaborate how teaching with technology can be developed, and particularly address learning technology by design.

Design Thinking and Education

This chapter revisits the role of design and design thinking in general and in education in particular. It then suggests a replacement of traditional educational system with a new one where design thinking is integrated as part of the curricular. Acknowledging that the new educational design is a work in progress, this chapter discusses some important dimensions which have surfaced: (1) epistemological concerns with generating useful, practical ideas to resolve real-world problems as opposed to traditional epistemology which takes the view of knowledge as verified truth; (2) based on the three-world ontology developed by Popper (Three worlds. Retrieved 16 Mar 2010 from http://www.tannerlectures.utah.edu/lectures/documents/popper80.pdf, 7 Apr 1978), the new design of education should engage students on all three worlds of reality which allows them to explore different tools and thinking protocols in order to create practical and/or ingenious solutions to resolve complex problems and to fulfill human needs and wants; (3) the need for a review of current pedagogical practices while embracing constructivism where design is deemed as a main pedagogical activity (Kafai, Constructionism. In: Sawyer K (ed) Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 35–46, 2006); and (4) design thinking useful not only for student learning but also for developing teacher professionalism.

Towards a Web 2.0 TPACK Lesson Design Framework: Applications of a Web 2.0 TPACK Survey of Singapore Preservice Teachers

The ability to use Web 2.0 technologies is an essential form of media literacy for twenty-first-century learners. Colleges of education need to train preservice teachers to use Web 2.0 technologies in pedagogically sound ways. This kind of teacher knowledge can be understood as a form technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) or knowledge to integrate technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge to design ICT-integrated lessons. This paper analyzes Singapore preservice teachers’ perceived competencies for the integration of Web 2.0 technologies. A Web 2.0 TPACK survey was administered on 270 graduating preservice teachers, and subsequent factor analysis revealed teachers perceiving five types of TPACK that are needed to support Web 2.0 integration: Web 2.0 Efficacy, Social Networking Efficacy, Efficacy for Teaching without Web 2.0, Efficacy for Teaching with Web 2.0, and Cyberwellness Efficacy. Regression analysis found that all factors except Social Networking Efficacy had positive impact on preservice teachers’ Efficacy for Teaching with Web 2.0. The implications of these results for enhancing preservice teachers’ Web 2.0 TPACK are discussed with respect to a Web 2.0 TPACK Lesson Design Framework developed to scaffold preservice teachers in their consideration of TPACK elements during lesson design.

Students’ conceptions of and approaches to knowledge building and its relationship to learning outcomes

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among students’ conceptions of knowledge building, approaches to knowledge building, knowledge-building behaviors and learning outcomes. A total of 48 primary school students (from grades 3 and 4) who had experienced knowledge-building activities participated in the present study. After analyzing the students’ interview responses using the phenomenographic method, qualitatively different and hierarchically related conceptions and approaches were revealed. The results indicated that the students with fragmented conceptions tended to use surface approaches to knowledge building while those with cohesive conceptions tended to adopt deep approaches. The findings also indicate that the students with cohesive conceptions or deep approaches were more likely to have better learning outcomes than those with fragmented conceptions or surface approaches.