Abstract Due to mandates for the inclusion of engineering and computer science standards for K-6 schools nationwide, there is a need to understand how teacher educators can help develop preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) teaching self-efficacy in these areas. To provide experience teaching and learning engineering and coding, PSTs in an instructional technology course were partnered with undergraduate engineering students in an electromechanical systems course to teach robotics lessons to fifth graders (10–11 year olds) over Zoom. A multi-case study approach explored teaching self-efficacy development for three preservice teachers during their robotics project experiences using multiple data sources, including surveys, reflections, interviews, and Zoom recordings, which were examined to identify how the project's social and intrapersonal context influenced the development of each PST’s teaching self-efficacy for engineering and coding. The PSTs gained teaching self-efficacy through all four sources of teaching self-efficacy, although not all PSTs benefited from all four types, nor did they benefit equally. These sources also influenced the PSTs’ intention to integrate engineering and coding into their future classrooms. This study demonstrates the potential of providing PSTs with the opportunity to teach robotics to children during their teacher preparation programs to support the development of their teaching self-efficacy for engineering and coding. When conducted in the context of a college course, such opportunities can be thoughtfully structured to leverage positive interactions with peers and elementary students and to take advantage of low-stakes environments, like afterschool clubs, offering PSTs settings rich in sources of self-efficacy information.
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The self as noticer: Supporting preservice teachers’ developing awareness.
Gaining insight into how one’s noticing shapes decision-making can enable a teacher to reflect on how they frame, interpret, and respond to classroom activity and disrupt the influence of dominant ideologies. Working in the context of teacher education, we conjectured that systematically analyzing and reflecting on their own noticing can enable preservice teachers (PSTs) in mathematics to develop more equitable practices. Using data from summative assignments in a course on advancing equitable teaching, we investigate how PSTs use lenses of equitable teaching to make sense of their noticing and develop conceptions of equity. Analysis reveals that PSTs engaged in meaningful reflection and adopted terms from the course but avoided discussing the sociopolitical dimensions of instruction. These findings have implications for course design and facilitation in the context of developing PSTs’ noticing for equity.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1661164
- PAR ID:
- 10424825
- Editor(s):
- Lischka, A. E.; Dyer, E. B.; Jones, R. S.; Lovett, J. N.; Strayer, J.; Drown, S.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 44th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1255-1264
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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