More Like this

1. Teacher Self-efficacy During Professional Development for Game Design and Unity

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3478432.3499039  

   Hodges, Charles B.; Akcaoglu, Mete; Allen, Andrew; Doğan, Selçuk (March 2022, Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   Teacher self-efficacy (SE) has been observed to be an 'important construct for Computer Science (CS) teachers' professional development because it can predict both teaching behaviors as well as student outcomes" [1]. The purpose of the present study was to investigate teacher CS SE during a two-year federally funded professional development (PD) and curriculum development project for middle school teachers incorporating game-design and the Unity development platform. The research question investigated is: How does teacher self-efficacy for teaching computer science via game design with the Unity game development platform change during a year-long PD program? Investigations of teacher SE for teaching CS have resulted in some surprising results. For example, it has been reported that - There were no differences in self-efficacy based on teachers' overall level of experience, despite previous findings that teacher self-efficacy is related to amount of experience" and "no differences in self-efficacy related to the teachers' own level of experience with CS" [2], thus further study of CS teacher SE is warranted. Participants in this study were six middle school teachers from four middle schools in the southeastern United States. They participated in a year-long PD program learning the Unity game development platform, elements of game design, and foundations of learner motivation. Guided reflective journaling was used to track the teachers' SE during the first year of the project. Teachers completed journal prompts at four intervals. Prompts consisted of questions like "How do you currently feel about your ability to facilitate student learning with Unity?" and "Are you confident that you can implement the materials the way the project team has planned for them to be implemented?" Prior to beginning the project participants expressed confidence in being able to facilitate student learning after participating in the planned professional development, but there was some uneasiness about learning and using Unity. From a SE perspective their responses make sense, as all of the participants are experienced teachers and should have confidence in their general ability to teach. However, since Unity is a new programming environment for all of the teachers, they did not have the prior experience necessary to have a high degree of confidence that they could successfully use it with their students. 

   more » « less
2. Professional development for mathematics teacher education faculty: Need and design

   Jackson, B.; Hauk, S.; Tsay, J. J.; Ramirez, A. (June 2020, The Montana math enthusiast)

   null (Ed.)

   The purpose of this report is to share a conceptual model useful in the design of professional learning about teaching for university mathematics faculty. The model is illustrated by examples from a particular design effort: the development of an online shortcourse for faculty new to teaching mathematics courses for prospective primary school teachers. How novice mathematics teacher educators grow as instructors is an emerging area of research and development in the United States. At the same time, it is well established that effective instructional design of any course, including a course for faculty, requires breadth first: understanding and anticipating the needs of the learner. Therefore, given the sparse knowledge base in the new arena of mathematics teacher educator professional growth, effective design requires leveraging the scant existing research while also exploring and iteratively refining broad goals and objectives for faculty learning. Only after a conceptual foundation is articulated for what is to be learned and what will constitute evidence of learning, can cycles of design productively examine and test-bed particular course features such as lesson content, structures (like scope and sequence), and processes (like communication and evaluation). In the example used in this report, several researchbased perspectives on learning in/for/about teaching guided design goals and short-course objectives. These valued perspectives informed creation and prioritization of principles for short-course design which, in turn, informed evaluation of faculty learning. With these conceptual foundations in place, design of lessons to realize the goals, principles, and objectives rapidly followed. The work reported here contributes to the knowledge base in two ways: (1) it addresses faculty professional development directly by describing and illustrating a model for supporting instructional improvement and (2) it provides metanarrative to scaffold the professional growth of those who design professional learning opportunities for post-secondary mathematics faculty. 

   more » « less
3. Examining Teachers’ Professional Learning in an Online Asynchronous System: Personalized Supports for Growth and Engagement in Learning to Teach Statistics and Data Science

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14111236  

   Lee, Hollylynne S; Thrasher, Emily; Mojica, Gemma F; Graham, Bruce M; Lee, J Todd; Kuhlman, Adrian (November 2024, Education Sciences)

   Teachers’ professional learning often includes online components. This study examined how a case of 37 teachers utilized a specific online asynchronous professional learning platform designed to support teachers’ growth in learning to teach statistics and data science in secondary schools in the United States. The platform’s features and learning materials were designed based on effective online learning designs, supports for self-guided learning, and research on the teaching and learning of statistics and data science. We paid particular attention to the features we designed into the platform to support self-regulation and personalizing the experiences to meet their preferred learning goals such as allowing for free choice of learning materials, flexibility of when and how long to engage, providing personal recommendations based on user input, internal systems to track progress, and generating certificates of completion. In this study, we used a case study with both quantitative and qualitative data to examine whether teachers had gains in meeting learning goals related to their development in teaching statistics and data science, had sustained engagement, and found the features for personalization supportive for their learning. Results showed, overall, positive growth towards meeting learning goals and making small changes towards improved classroom practice. Most teachers were generally engaged in sustained ways across the study period, though we found six different patterns of completion that highlight ways in which teachers’ goal-directed and self-regulated learning occurred within the busy schedules of educators. Several personalized features, especially the recommendations and tracking system, were highly utilized and perceived as supportive of teachers’ learning. 

   more » « less
4. ASYNCHRONOUS MATHEMATICS PD: DESIGN AND FACILITATION FORMAT EFFECTS ON TEACHER LEARNING

   Seago, N.; Knotts, A.; Neumayer DePiper, J. (January 2022, PME)

   In this paper, we share the design and effects on teacher learning of a set of two-hour online mathematics professional development modules adapted from face-to-face video-based materials. The modules are designed to be used in three facilitation formats: project staff- facilitated, district leader-facilitated, or structured independent. The modules aim to impact teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching linear functions and effective mathematics teaching practices (MTPs; NCTM, 2014). Analysis of teacher learning, as related to evidence of the MTPs in teachers’ written reflections, found teachers demonstrated learning of key MTPs, and in particular, there were not significant differences by facilitation format. Results and implications are discussed. 

   more » « less
5. Asynchronous Mathematics PD: Design and facilitation format effects on teacher learning

   Seago, N.; Knotts, A.; & Neumayer DePiper, J. (January 2022, PME)

   In this paper, we share the design and effects on teacher learning of a set of two-hour online mathematics professional development modules adapted from face-to-face video-based materials. The modules are designed to be used in three facilitation formats: project staff- facilitated, district leader-facilitated, or structured independent. The modules aim to impact teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching linear functions and effective mathematics teaching practices (MTPs; NCTM, 2014). Analysis of teacher learning, as related to evidence of the MTPs in teachers’ written reflections, found teachers demonstrated learning of key MTPs, and in particular, there were not significant differences by facilitation format. Results and implications are discussed. 

   more » « less