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1. Effect of Labeling Simulated Students as Having Special Learning Needs on the Simulated Teaching Behaviors of K-12 Educators

   Knezek, Gerald; Christensen, Rhonda (July 2024, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE))

   Bastiaens, T (Ed.)

   Fifty-five (55) K-12 teachers in two US states completed five repetitions of a 15-minute simulated teaching lesson in which six of their 12 simulated students in a class were labeled as having special learning needs while the other six were not labeled. Analysis of three measures of differential focus in instructional attention revealed that educators teaching within the simulator tended to increase attention (p < .05) in the areas where they perceived the greatest needs. That is, they tended to focus increased guidance toward the simulated students that were labeled as having special learning needs. Findings provide credible evidence of the fidelity of the simulated teaching environment as perceived by actual teachers, in that teachers focused actions in the simulator comparable to the manner in which teachers commonly focus guidance in real classrooms, targeting extra assistance where they perceive it is needed. This finding has reconfirmed preliminary indications from a smaller participant pool (n = 40) studied in a previous year and has expanded confirmation of the effect to additional types of special learning needs labels in addition to English Language Learner (ELL). 

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2. Using a Simulated Teaching Environment to Improve Teaching Effectiveness as Measured by Core Teaching Standards

   Knezek, G.; Christensen, R. (April 2023, Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference)

   Langran, E. (Ed.)

   Twenty-seven teachers and teacher candidates completed two to five iterations of a simulated teaching module in simSchool, an online “flight simulator for teachers” environment. The system recorded instances of pedagogical practices as educators completed each trial. Analysis of data revealed that as a group, gains in addressing core teaching standards across simulated teaching trials where significantly (p < .05) improved, when judged by changes in aggregate scores from first trial to last. Further analysis indicated that three trials are good, but five trials are better for maximizing gains. Limitations of the study include the small sample size (n = 27). Replication with a larger group of participants is planned. 

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3. How a Research-Practice Partnership Refined its Strategy for Integrating CS/CT into K-5 Curricula: An Experience Report

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3478431.3499281  

   Adrion, W. Richards; Bevan, Katie; Foster, Paul; Matuszczak, Denise; Miller, Rachel; Rita, Laura; Sullivan, Florence R.; Veeragoudar, Sneha; Wohlers, Scott; Zeitz, Melissa (March 2022, SIGCSE ’22)

   Massachusetts defined K-12 Digital Literacy/Computer Science (DLCS) standards in 2016 and developed a 5-12 teacher licensure process, expecting K-4 teachers to be capable of teaching to the standards under their elementary license. An NSF CSforAll planning grant led to the establishment of an NSF 4-year ResearchPractice Partnership (RPP) of district and school administrators, teachers, university researchers, and external evaluators in 2018. The RPP focused on the 33 K-5 serving schools to engage all students in integrated CS/CT teaching and learning and to create a cadre of skilled and confident elementary classroom teachers ready to support their students in learning CS/CT concepts and practices. The pandemic exacerbated barriers and inequities across the district, which serves over 25,000 diverse students (9.7% white/nonHispanic, 83.7% high needs). Having observed a lack of awareness and expertise among many K-5 teachers for implementing CS/CT content and practices and seeing barriers to equitable CS/CT teaching and learning, the RPP designed an iterative, teacher-led, co-design of curriculum supported by equity-focused and embedded professional learning. This experience report describes how we refined our strategies for curriculum development and diffusion, professional learning, and importantly, our commitment to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion beyond just reaching all students. The RPP broadened its focus on understanding race and equity to empower students to understand how technology affects their identities and to equip them to critically participate in the creation and use of technology 

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4. Impacting student perceptions of engagement and student voice through equity-focused teacher professional development in a simulated teaching environment

   Christensen, Rhonda; Knezek, Gerald (July 2024, Journal of interactive learning research)

   Ferdig, R; Gandolfi, E; Baumgartner, E (Ed.)

   Student engagement, cultural identity and voice in school have been shown to have measurable influence on student learning. While many factors may affect student dispositions, teachers likely have the most direct impact on the dispositions related to classroom engagement and student voice. Measures of student perceptions of their teachers’ cultural engagement, cultural teaching practices and the students’ own engagement and voice in schooling are included in this paper. Data from 822 grade 3 – 12 students of teachers who participated in a simulated teaching environment intended to improve equitable teaching practices revealed significant pre-post changes for measures of voice and engagement. The data also showed significant differences by gender and ethnicity. 

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5. Automated feedback on discourse moves: Teachers’ perceived utility of a big data tool.

   https://doi.org/10.3102/1887987  

   Scornavacco, K.; Jacobs, J.; Clevenger, C. (March 2022, Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association)

   Using new technology to provide automated feedback on classroom discourse offers a unique opportunity for educators to engage in self-reflection on their teaching, in particular to ensure that the instructional environment is equitable and productive for all students. More information is needed about how teachers experience automated data tools, including what they perceive as relevant and helpful for their everyday teaching. This mixed-methods study explored the perceptions and engagement of 21 math teachers over two years with a big data tool that analyzes classroom recordings and generates information about their discourse practices in near real-time. Findings revealed that teachers perceived the tool as having utility, yet the specific feedback that teachers perceived as most useful changed over time. In addition, teachers who used the tool throughout both years increased their use of talk moves over time, suggesting that they were making changes due to their review of the personalized feedback. These findings speak to promising directions for the development of AI-based, big data tools that help shape teacher learning and instruction, particularly tools that have strong perceived utility. 

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