Finding Spaces: Teacher Education Technology Competencies (TETCs)

Andrea C Burrows,Rod Thompson,Trina Kilty,Lindsey Freeman,Todd Reynolds,Gabriel P Swarts,Linda Hutchison,Jason M Katzmann,Angela Schanke

doi:10.3390/educsci11110733

Andrea C Burrows, Rod Thompson + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110733

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Abstract

This article explores technology’s integration, assessment, and reflection within a single secondary education program at a Mountain West university. In light of the publication of the Teacher Education Technology Competencies (TETCs), faculty members of a secondary education program focused on existing practices and pathways for expansion to better align with the TETC standards in the future. The purpose of this study was to explore existing practices of incorporating technology into secondary methods coursework and to search for new spaces to implement the TETC guidelines and structure, as well as explore the roles faculty play in the adoption and implementation of technologies. Vignettes authored by faculty in each content area provide a rich depth of faculty experience and dispositions regarding technology integration, as well as spaces for the deeper use of technology based on the TETC recommendations. Key questions emerged about the efficacy of current technology practices, as well as the experiences and dispositions of the faculty within the secondary education program. Findings show that secondary education faculty use domain/content-specific technologies in their course; are expected to be “meta-experts”, both discovering and implementing technology simultaneously; and tend to discover technologies through content-specific interactions and discussions.

Highlights

How do teacher educators prepare future teachers to effectively integrate information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their classrooms? This overarching and perplexing question has prompted professional organizations to focus on preservice teachers’ experiences with technology in the classroom, suggesting technology standards for preservice teacher preparation, both broad (e.g., ISTE) and content-specific (e.g., NSTA)in scope [1,2]
Through faculty-perspective vignettes about current and future technology integration, the aim of this paper is to show how one secondary education program thinks about and incorporates technology, and eventually the Technology Competencies (TETCs) framework, with secondary education preservice teachers
Vignettes were informed by survey data, syllabi, and course documents, and the aim of including these vignettes was to provide the reader with a picture of content-specific technology use in one program, focusing on the present, as well as on future ideas and possibilities for each methods program

Summary

Introduction

How do teacher educators prepare future teachers to effectively integrate information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their classrooms? This overarching and perplexing question has prompted professional organizations to focus on preservice teachers’ experiences with technology in the classroom, suggesting technology standards for preservice teacher preparation, both broad (e.g., ISTE) and content-specific (e.g., NSTA)in scope [1,2]. How do teacher educators prepare future teachers to effectively integrate information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their classrooms? This overarching and perplexing question has prompted professional organizations to focus on preservice teachers’ experiences with technology in the classroom, suggesting technology standards for preservice teacher preparation, both broad (e.g., ISTE) and content-specific (e.g., NSTA). With the introduction of the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETCs), designed for teacher educators, another dimension has been added to the conversation. By proposing general and content-specific technology integration, the TETCs represent an overarching framework to guide teacher education programs and departments [3]. Teacher educators explore current and future ideas for technology use in their secondary methods coursework through the TETC framework. Develop regular shape formulas based on interior/exterior angles. Advantages of technology (e.g., compare GPS to traditional map reading); spatial reasoning

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