Lisa A. Dieker

The Potential of Simulated Environments in Teacher Education: Current and Future Possibilities

The future of virtual environments is evident in many fields but is just emerging in the field of teacher education. In this article, the authors provide a summary of the evolution of simulation in the field of teacher education and three factors that need to be considered as these environments further develop. The authors provide a specific example of the work at two universities that use a specific virtual environment, TLE TeachLivE™, in teacher education. This environment is already being used in teacher preparation at 32 universities to collaboratively find ways to enhance teacher practice while using a standardized tool often found in medicine, business and military training, and virtual simulation.

Evaluating Video Models of Evidence-Based Instructional Practices to Enhance Teacher Learning.

A process was developed to create Web-based video models of effective instructional practices for use in teacher education settings. Three video models, created at three university sites, demonstrated exemplary implementation of specific, evidence-based strategies in reading, math, and science. Video models of strategies were field tested with preservice and practicing teachers working with diverse student populations. The authors provide an explanation of the video development process and present field-test data that demonstrate the influence of video modeling on teacher learning.

Reflective Teaching: A Process for Analyzing Journals of Preservice Educators

Researchers are attempting to establish the importance of reflection within the teaching profession. As teacher educators more frequently require journal writing as one form of reflective practice in preservice teacher preparation, it becomes important that a process be established for analyzing this type of reflective thought. In this study, a content and descriptive analysis of reflective journal entries was conducted to define operational categories of reflective thought. Six CRT students maintained weekly journals in which they were required to reflect upon their instruction in their student teaching on a daily basis. Data then were analyzed in four stages: (a) classifying entries as problems, successes, or general issues, (b) reclassifying problem and success entries into teaching categories (behavior, planning, instruction, and learning environment), (c) identifying the levels of reflective thought used in addressing a problem, and (d) identifying components of successful entries. The final outcome of the analysis at each stage was the development of reliable and operational definitions for classifying, coding, and evaluating written journals of preservice teachers.

Secondary Reading Not Just for Reading Teachers Anymore

Reading skills needed at the secondary level are dramatically different from those needed in the elementary classroom. Reading is no longer taught in most secondary classes but is now a tool to demonstrate mastery of numerous content areas. However, what are the options when you cannot read and are a middle or high school student? This phenomenon is true for many secondary students with disabilities and is especially problematic for those students who will never master the use of printed material at the level needed to learn content. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to emphasize the importance of collaboration between general and special educators at the secondary level related to the use of reading and to provide strategies related to using reading material effectively at the middle and high school levels.

Report of the Wingspread Conference: Preparing Teachers to Work with Diverse Learners

The need to enhance our efforts in preparing teachers for diversity is widely recognized across many educational fronts. Educational organizations with a vested interest in teacher preparation have mobilized to address this need. There are, however, few collaborative efforts across organizations to address this important task, The Wingspread Conference described in this paper was designed to be one step in the process of forging interorganizational alliances to promote teacher preparation for diversity. The goal of this conference was to establish a set of guiding principles and suggested actions that could be embraced and cooperatively supported by all participating organizations.

Planning in the Middle: Co-Planning between General and Special Education.

Professional development programs tailored to address co-teaching performance in Arkansas provided data for 3 cohorts of middle school co-taught teams. This study provides an analysis of middle school plans and provides recommendations as to how to more effectively meet the needs of co-taught teams. Using a content analysis approach, monthly lessons plans submitted by teams over a 3-year period were analyzed. The purpose of this analysis is to provide the field with considerations about what is and is not occurring in the written process related to co-teaching, specifically co-planning in middle schools. In total, 155 lesson plans were analyzed, which were further broken down into 755 days of plans. Findings indicate these teachers utilized a diversity of co-taught models, but 1 model (1 lead, 1 support) dominated their planning. Areas of concern focused on a lack of focus on behavior and utilization of technology for students with disabilities.

Ludic Learning: Exploration of TLE TeachLivETM and Effective Teacher Training

New and emerging technology in the field of virtual environments has permitted a certain malleability of learning milieus. These emerging environments allow learning and transfer through interactions that have been intentionally designed to be pleasurable experiences. TLE TeachLivETM is just such an emerging environment that engages teachers in practice on pedagogical and content aspects of teaching in a simulator. The sense of presence, engagement, and ludus of TLE TeachLivETM are derived from the compelling Mixed Reality that includes components of off-the shelf and emerging technologies. Some of the noted features that have been identified relevant to the ludic nature of TeachLivE include the flow, fidelity, unpredicability, suspension of disbelief, social presence, and gamelike elements. This article explores TLE TeachLivETM in terms of the ludology, paideic user experience, the source of the ludus, and outcomes of the ludic nature of the experience.

Collaboration as a Tool to Resolve the Issue of Disjointed Service Delivery

The current model for developing inclusive environments to meet the need of students with disabilities varies state to state, district to district, and school to school. McLeskey, Henry, and Hodges (1998) provided a summary of the trends in placement decisions as well as the service delivery models across states. They found that from 1988 to 1994, the number of students being served in the general education setting increased. In later studies McLeskey and Henry (1999) found differences in the percentage of students with disabilities who were included in the general education setting from state to state. Sawyer, McLaughlin, and Winglee conducted a similar study in 1994 in which they looked at national data trends. Based on data collected by the Office of Special Education Program, they investigated the placement of students in schools into regular classroom settings from state to state. These authors found the percentage of all categories of disabilities being JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTATION, 12(3), 263–269 Copyright

A five-year retrospective on the Arkansas Department of Education Co-teaching Project

The Arkansas Department of Education Co-teaching Project was designed to assist Arkansas schools in the implementation of more inclusive service delivery models for students with disabilities. The project began due to a need to increase the number of students being served in less restrictive environments, but evolved into a systematic statewide program that has impacted both service delivery as well as general and special education teacher practice. Support for the systemic change project was provided annually through a comprehensive professional development model including face-to-face and online professional development, technical assistance, informational resources, and ongoing evaluation. This article provides the details of the systemic change occurring over a five-year period through a comprehensive evaluation model. Participants in the project included five cohorts, 143 school districts, 208 schools, 789 teachers and 3920 students. The results of the comprehensive evaluation plan indicate, over time, increases in the implementation of building-level supports, rated performance of co-teaching partnerships and grades for students with disabilities in co-taught classrooms. The evolution of the model extended to include web resources, interactive webinars, onsite coaching and specific evaluation feedback and recommendations to individual schools and teachers. This comprehensive approach to professional development was considered critical to the overall changes in state, district and classroom-based practices.

The use of virtual and simulated teaching and learning environments: Inviting gifted students into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers (STEM) through summer partnerships

New technologies and virtual environments are emerging globally, yet the way these tools can impact the learning and future career paths of students who are gifted is limited in the literature at this time. The purpose of this article is to provide a summary of how a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) summer camp, based on virtual and simulated environments, impacted the self-confidence of targeted diverse secondary science students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who were considered gifted with strong potential in these future STEM fields.