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1. 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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2. Teaching Mathematics with Technology: TPACK and Effective Teaching Practices

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12020133  

   Rakes, Christopher R.; Stites, Michele L.; Ronau, Robert N.; Bush, Sarah B.; Fisher, Molly H.; Safi, Farshid; Desai, Siddhi; Schmidt, Ashley; Andreasen, Janet B.; Saderholm, Jon; et al (February 2022, Education Sciences)

   This paper examines how 17 secondary mathematics teacher candidates (TCs) in four university teacher preparation programs implemented technology in their classrooms to teach for conceptual understanding in online, hybrid, and face to face classes during COVID-19. Using the Professional Development: Research, Implementation, and Evaluation (PrimeD) framework, TCs, classroom mentor teachers, field experience supervisors, and university faculty formed a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) to discuss a commonly agreed upon problem of practice and a change idea to implement in the classroom. Through Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, participants documented their improvement efforts and refinements to the change idea and then reported back to the NIC at the subsequent monthly meeting. The Technology Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework (TPACK) and the TPACK levels rubric were used to examine how teacher candidates implemented technology for Mathematics conceptual understanding. The Mathematics Classroom Observation Protocol for Practices (MCOP2) was used to further examine how effective mathematics teaching practices (e.g., student engagement) were implemented by TCs. MCOP2 results indicated that TCs increased their use of effective mathematics teaching practices. However, growth in TPACK was not significant. A relationship between TPACK and MCOP2 was not evident, indicating a potential need for explicit focus on using technology for mathematics conceptual understanding. 

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3. Have a passion for teaching? Consider high school teaching

   https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5094433  

   Adams, W. K.; Plisch, M.; Plantt, T. (May 2019, American Journal of Physics)
4. Fostering Equitable Teaching Practices through a Simulated Teaching Environment

   Christensen, Rhonda; Knezek, Gerald (June 2024, International Society for Technology in Education)

   This paper focuses on research based on educators’ use of a simulated teaching environment and its relationship to changes in indices associated with equitable teaching practices. Data from 39 educators who spent an average of 4 hours and 39 minutes completing 15 sessions in three modules providing feedback on each session in a simulated teaching environment are included. Results indicated that there were significant and educationally meaningful positive changes in measured indices related to equitable teaching practices following experience teaching in the simSchool simulator. 

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5. Characterizing graduate teaching assistants’ teaching practices in physics “mini-studios”

   https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2019.pr.Wan  

   Wan, Tong; Doty, Constance M.; Geraets, Ashley A.; Saitta, Erin K.; Chini, Jacquelyn J. (January 2020, 2019 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings)

   In this study, we characterized GTAs’ teaching practices in algebra-based introductory physics “mini-studios,” which combine student-centered recitation and inquiry-based labs. We documented both GTA and student actions using an observation protocol adapted from the Laboratory Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (LOPUS). We observed 72 mini-studio sessions led by 11 GTAs over two semesters. We used an agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and identified three clusters that described the similarities and differences between individual sessions. Two clusters contained sessions characterized by more interactive GTAs but they varied in the amount of feedback, lecture and whole class questioning the GTA provided. In the third cluster, GTAs tended to wait for students to call on them before engaging. Student behaviors also varied between the clusters, suggesting correlations between student behaviors and GTA instructional styles, in contrast to previous findings with LOPUS in other contexts. We discuss implications of these findings for future research. 

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