Nancy Wentworth

Principles of Technology Integration and Curriculum Development

Abstract To better prepare pre-service candidates for teaching in the information age, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has defined National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) to guide technology integration into teacher education programs. Based on these standards, Brigham Young University (BYU) has implemented strategies for technology integration into their teacher education program by creating curriculum design teams composed of School of Education faculty, public school personnel, and instructional design and technology specialists. This paper describes basic principles that have led to the successful development of curriculum design teams for systemic reform in teacher education.

Trends in Computer Uses as Reported in Computers in the Schools

Abstract A study of the articles from Computers in the Schools reveals the evolution of the uses of computers in the classroom and the ways in which the integration of technology in education has influenced classroom learning environments. These articles help describe the impact this evolution has had on the education of teachers and define the experiences teachers will need to have as they learn to teach with computers.

Inquiry Learning and Technology: A Model for Teacher Education Programs

Abstract PT3 implementation grant funds have been used to restructure a teacher education program to meet the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) defined by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). The Brigham Young University PT3 implementation grant supported design teams of teacher education and content area faculty who enriched pre-service teacher education courses and K-12 curricula with inquiry-based technology integration. The teams modeled technology-enhanced instruction to pre-service teachers who then wrote similar lesson plans that they implemented during K-12 field experiences. Technology-enhanced unit plans written by pre-ser-vice teachers were coded to see which NETS were met. A correlation study was done to compare the innovation of the lessons and the NETS standards. The results of this study indicate that, when inquiry-based instruction is a focus of technology integration, learning is collaborative, student-centered, and develops critical thinking skills in students.

Inquiry-Based Lessons That Integrate Technology: Their Development and Evaluation in Elementary Mathematics Teacher Education

Technology-enhanced mathematics tasks were introduced to elementary pre-service candidates (n = 84) and in-service teachers (n = 38), who then, either in partners or small groups, created and taught inquiry-based lessons incorporating technology, with individual reflections. The lessons were coded using the following criteria: (a) The students themselves used the technology for inquiry learning, (b) technology was integral to the learning task, (c) the lesson focused on mathematics concepts—not the technology, and (d) the task would have been more difficult to accomplish without the technology. The lesson analysis revealed that, after instruction on inquiry learning and technology integration, each group achieved a high level of proficiency using these criteria. Further, the analysis assisted the instructors in identifying issues and concerns regarding implementation of technology in elementary mathematics instruction.

Chapter 17 Reflections on the shared ordeal of accreditation across institutional narratives

Accountability requirements established by state and national mandates have positioned accreditation bodies as overseers of institutional compliance and quality control of teacher preparation programs. These bodies then dictate the procedures and criteria for how preparation programs will prove their competence in the preparation of teachers who are deemed highly qualified. This process of mandated accreditation, by its very nature, is imposed as a top-down structure even when it is couched in bottom-up processes. Nearly all of the institutions indicated that they had some type of bottom-up procedures for meeting the top-down requirements of accreditation. Strategic involvement of faculty from the beginning of the process made “it personal, create[d] faculty ‘buy in’, produce[d] commitment, and thus more investment” (Ackerman and Hoover, St. Cloud State University). As Pierce and Simmerman (Utah Valley University) pointed out that both requiring and allowing faculty participation in the decision making process and development of common goals, this bottom-up tactic helped to establish joint ownership of their faculty in the process. Hutchison, Buss, Ellsworth, and Persichitte (University of Wyoming) also indicated that successful accreditation processes require faculty support and input on both the process and the decisions that are made. Indeed, they acknowledged that their decision to include all college faculty involved with teacher preparation was stressful, but central in yielding positive dividends in the process. Utilizing a bottom-up task within a top-down structure positions stakeholders as worker bees to accomplish a project that may or may not be seen to them as having personal or professional benefit – thus tensions are fostered.

Chapter 1 Tensions: Negotiating the challenges of accountability and accreditation

Brigham Young University has been consistently accredited by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) since 1954. Our accreditation reports of past years focused on input information – general goals, complicated organization diagrams, and clinical performance assessments. When NCATE moved from inputs to outcomes with evidence grounded in measurable data, we worked collaboratively among teacher education faculty, faculty from the arts and sciences colleges, and public school partners to overhaul our assessment system and design new instruments. Our current accreditation reports include course and clinical assessments aligned with specific program outcomes, statistical charts detailing the levels at which these outcomes are being met, and documentation of programmatic decisions based on the findings of our assessments. Moving from input descriptions to output evidence was a painful process. However, we have come to appreciate the usefulness and value of our experiences, the tools that emerged, and the new decision-making processes we now engage in. This chapter is a recounting of our frustrations and the lessons we learned as we moved toward a culture of data-based decision-making.

Chapter 4 Tensions, collaboration, and pizza create paradigm shifts in a teacher education program

Brigham Young University has been consistently accredited by NCATE since 1954. Our accreditation reports of past years focused on input information – general goals, complicated organization diagrams, and clinical performance assessments. When NCATE moved from inputs to outcomes with evidence grounded in measurable data, we worked collaboratively among teacher education faculty, faculty from the arts and sciences colleges, and public school partners to overhaul our assessment system and design new instruments. Our current accreditation reports include course and clinical assessments aligned with specific program outcomes, statistical charts detailing the levels at which these outcomes are being met, and documentation of programmatic decisions based on the findings of our assessments. Moving from input descriptions to output evidence was a painful process. However, we have come to appreciate the usefulness and value of our experiences, the tools that emerged, and the new decision-making processes we now engage in. This chapter is a recounting of our frustrations and the lessons we learned as we moved toward a culture of data-based decision-making.