More Like this

1. Co-Constructing and Sharing STEAM Knowledge through a Culturally Relevant Literacy-Based Early Childhood School-University Partnership

   Caudle, Lori; Harper, Frances K.; Quinn, Margaret; Greene, Darelene (January 2021, Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the Journal Scuola Democratica)

   null (Ed.)

   Through school-university partnerships that situate learning within culturally relevant educational experiences, faculty, preservice teachers, and school-based educators are able to co-construct and share scientific knowledge. This knowledge consists of pedagogical content knowledge and funds of knowledge that include both knowledge and skills developed in cultural context that have evolved historically. In early childhood education, culturally relevant Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) learning experiences are particularly important for young children's cognitive and social emotional development. This paper describes how intentional co-planning and collaboration to celebrate the US Read across America Day provided over 100 preschool children in eight classrooms with access to STEAM lessons virtually led by university preservice teachers in partnership with educators in the school. These activities engaged children in exploring art, computer science, physical science, engineering, and mathematics within the context of a culturally relevant version of the fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Lessons implemented as part of school-university partnerships support Black and Latinx children's development of a sense of belonging in STEAM. Further, these experiences enhance teacher candidates' abilities to engage in culturally responsive STEAM teaching while receiving ongoing guidance and education from university faculty and school-based educators. Teacher education programs within higher education institutions should embrace school- university partnerships as contexts for the development of shared scientific knowledge and discourse since the benefits are twofold. First, children and teachers gain access to, and engage with, innovative STEAM experiences. Second, preservice teachers learn culturally relevant research-based instructional strategies through university coursework situated in authentic learning experiences; thus, their learning as teacher candidates is enhanced through planning, implementation, evaluation, and critical reflection. 

   more » « less
2. Facilitating collaborative inquiry into practice around artifacts of mathematics teaching

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-024-09649-z  

   Ebby, Caroline_B; Hess, Brittany; Pecora, Lizzy; Valerio, Jennifer (August 2024, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education)

   Abstract Although there has been increasing attention to the importance of teacher agency in professional development, there has been little attention to what it takes to facilitate collaborative work that both centers teachers’ assets and expertise and leads to productive learning. This paper presents a framework for focused and responsive facilitation of productive discourse around instructional practice in teacher learning communities. Drawing on a situative perspective, we trace the development of six novice teacher leaders as they were mentored to lead online collaborative lesson design groups focused on analyzing artifacts of K-8 mathematics instruction in a large urban district in the US. Our framework articulates how leaders facilitated the discussions in ways that both built on teacher knowledge, experiences, and contributions while also focusing on professional learning goals. Our analysis also shows how rich learning opportunities were co-constructed and sustained by the mentors, teacher leaders, and participants in each group over time. Through narrative descriptions of one group, we show how the teacher participants began to take on some of the facilitation practices themselves as they apprenticed into the practices of the community. This approach to professional learning positions teachers’ experience and knowledge as important assets while supporting them to try out and reflect on new classroom practices. 

   more » « less
3. Mathematics Discourse Tier 1 and 2 Analysis Data

   https://doi.org/10.17632/sv94wzsgzc.1  

   Schmidt, Ashley; Rakes, Christopher; Bush, Sarah (January 2024, Mendeley Data)

   Quantitative data for Mathematics Discourse in Secondary Teacher Candidates’ Lessons: A Mixed Methods Analysis. 

   more » « less
4. The Science Student Electronic Exit Ticket (SEET) System: Visualizations to Help Teachers Notice and Reflect on Classroom Inequalities

   https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2024.8199  

   Raza, Ali; Sumner, Tamara; Penuel, William R (March 2024, Journal of Learning Analytics)

   This study examined the ways in which an equity analytics tool — the SEET system — supported middle school science teachers’ reflections on the experiences of diverse students in their classrooms. The tool provides teachers with “equity visualizations” — disaggregated classroom data by gender and race/ethnicity — designed to support teachers to notice and reflect on inequitable patterns in student participation in classroom knowledge-building activities, as well as “whole class visualizations” that enable teachers to look at participation patterns. The visualizations were based on survey data collected from students reflecting on the day’s lessons, responding to questions aligned with three theoretical constructs indicative of equitable participation in science classrooms: coherence, relevance, and contribution. The study involved 42 teachers, divided into two cohorts, participating in a two-month professional learning series. Diary studies and semi-structured interviews were used to probe teachers’ perceptions of the visualizations’ usability, usefulness, and utility for supporting their reflections on student experiences and instructional practices. A key result is that only the “equity visualizations” prompted teacher reflections on diverse student experiences. However, despite the support equity visualizations provided for this core task, the teachers consistently ranked the whole class visualizations as more usable and useful. 

   more » « less
5. An innovative early field experience for secondary teachers: Early results from shifting to an online model.

   Cirillo, Michelle; LaRochelle, Raymond; Arbaugh, Fran; Bieda, Kristen N. (June 2020, Journal of technology and teacher education)

   The COVID-19-induced closure of schools significantly impacted the field experiences of students enrolled in teacher preparation programs. We addressed this ongoing challenge by adapting an early field experience model for secondary teachers that shifted online mid-semester. The University Teaching Experience model deploys a cohort of preservice secondary mathematics teachers to support instruction in an introductory university mathematics course. When the designated mathematics course moved online, the preservice teachers were able to continue their field experience by facilitating small-group discussions in virtual breakout rooms. To understand the perspectives of the stakeholders participating in the online field experience, we conducted semi-structured one-on-one interviews with the preservice teachers, the mathematics course instructor, and the university mathematics students involved in this setting. Early results indicated that the preservice teachers were highly valued by both the course instructor and the undergraduate mathematics students. Additionally, the preservice teachers appreciated the opportunity to continue their field experience, albeit in the more limited format. We present themes which emerged from preservice teacher interviews and share guidance for teacher preparation program faculty interested in trying an online early field experience while access to K-12 classrooms is limited. 

   more » « less