Elementary Teacher Education Program Research Articles

DEVELOPING APPRECIATIVE LITERATURE TEXTBOOK BASED ON THEMATIC-INTEGRATIVE THROUGH ACTIVE LEARNING TO IMPROVE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ APPRECIATIVE CAPABILITY ON POETRY AND DRAMA IN ELEMENTARY TECHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

<p><em>The objectives of this research </em><em>we</em><em>re: (1) to describe students</em><em>’</em><em> and lecturers</em><em>’ </em><em>needs </em><em>on </em><em>poetry and drama </em><em>appreciative textbook</em><em>, (2) to describe the development of textbook model (3) to find the effectiveness of textbook </em><em>model</em><em> 4) to describe textbook dissemination. The type of research used was research </em><em>and </em><em>development. Research was done through 4 stages: (1) </em><em>exploration</em><em>, (2) model development, (3) model testing, (4) dissemination. Exploration stage used qualitative descriptive approach. Data </em><em>was collected through</em><em> in-depth interviews, observation, documentation, and questionnaires. Data analysis technique </em><em>was </em><em>interactive analysis model. </em><em>M</em><em>odel testing </em><em>was done through </em><em>experimental research. The results of this research were: (1) </em><em>the </em><em>exploration stage showed that the </em><em>poetry and drama learning </em><em>textbook used by </em><em>Elementary Teacher Education Program (ETEP) </em><em>student</em><em>sin </em><em>Surakarta </em><em>did </em><em>not </em><em>meet the </em><em>student</em><em>s’</em><em> and lecturer</em><em>s’ need</em><em>, (2) model development </em><em>stage producedappreciative poetry and drama </em><em>textbook through preliminary field testing; (3) </em><em>model </em><em>testing phase </em><em>was to test</em><em> effectiveness </em><em>of the textbook used </em><em>t-test </em><em>non-</em><em>independent technique</em><em>.It was </em><em>obtained t</em><em><sub>obtain</sub></em><em>of </em><em>23 </em><em>and </em><em>t</em><em><sub>table(</sub></em><em><sub>90; 0.05)</sub></em><em>of </em><em>1.67. Thus, t</em><em><sub>obtained</sub></em><em> (23)> t<sub>table</sub> (1.67) </em><em>which meant that</em><em> the hypothesis was accepted (Ho was rejected). In conclusion, the </em><em>Appreciative</em><em> Poetry and Drama textbook model was effectively improve students' poetry and drama appreciation skills. Dissemination was done through national seminars, article writing in international journals, as well as the publishing of an Integrative-thematic Textbook of Poetry and Drama Learning</em><em> with ISBN</em><em>.</em></p>

DEVELOPMENT OF THEATER EDUCATION TEKSBOOK WITH CHARACTER EDUCATION AND LOCAL WISDOM THROUGH ACTIVE LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS SCRIPT WRITING ABILITY

The purpose of this study was to describe: (1) the students’ and lecturers’ needs on the Theater Education Textbook, (2) the development of the textbook model, (3) the effectiveness testing on the designed textbook, (4) the result of the textbook dissemination. The type of research used was research and development by Borg and Gall. Research was done through 4 stages: (1) exploration, (2) model development, (3) model testing, and (4) dissemination. The research approach used in the exploration stage was qualitative descriptive approach. Data collection was done through documentation study, observation, in-depth interview, and questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using interactive analysis model. Model testing was done by experimental research. The results of this research were: (1) exploration stage showed that the Theater Education Textbook used in Undergraduate Elementary Teacher Education (ETE) Program of Sebelas Maret University, Muhammadiyah University, and Slamet Riyadi University Surakarta, Indonesia did not met the students’ and lecturers’ needs, (2) the theater education textbook was developed through preliminary field testing; and (3) testing phase of textbook effectiveness was done through main field testing. The value of t-obtained was 0.17 and t-table<sub>(0.05; 173)</sub> = 1.64. Thus, the critical area {t <-1.64 or t> 1.64}. Since t-obtained (0.17)< t-table (1.64) H<sub>0</sub>: μ1 ≠μ2 was accepted. This means that the theater script writing textbook with character education and local wisdom was able to improve the students’ script writing ability.

Emancipatory education and the preparation of future teachers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities and impact of emancipatory education in the preparation of future elementary school teachers.Design/methodology/approachTo serve the purpose of the study, emancipatory education was introduced to the student teachers of an elementary school teacher education program in the Curriculum and Learning Development course. The researcher then observed them during their learning activities and analyzed their portfolios providing feedback during their poster presentations. A classroom experiential model was applied.FindingsThe results of the students’ activities indicated that most of the students were able to develop the twenty-first century skills needed to conduct the activities and avoid the tendency to follow directions from someone in authority. After the implementation of this study, the student teachers revealed higher-order thinking skills and were also able to develop learning materials and assessments that were appropriate to elementary school pupils. Still, the “old tendencies” (e.g. not thinking out of the box and waiting for direct instructions) sometimes emerged.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was applied to a single course in one out of five parallel classes in a university in a particular area in Indonesia, a developing Asian country with a collectivist culture.Originality/valueThis paper exemplifies how learning and teaching activities in a higher education institution in a developing country can be designed to help future teachers prepare themselves to function and teach in a globalized society.

Differences in Learning Characteristics Between Students With High, Average, and Low Levels of Academic Procrastination: Students' Views on Factors Influencing Their Learning.

Within the field of procrastination, much research has been conducted on factors that have an influence on academic procrastination. Less is known about how such factors may differ for various students. In addition, not much is known about differences in the process of how factors influence students’ learning and what creates differences in procrastination behavior between students with different levels of academic procrastination. In this study learning characteristics and the self-regulation behavior of three groups of students with different levels of academic procrastination were compared. The rationale behind this was that certain learning characteristics and self-regulation behaviors may play out differently in students with different levels of academic procrastination. Participants were first-year students (N = 22) with different levels of academic procrastination enrolled in an elementary teacher education program. The selection of the participants into three groups of students (low procrastination, n = 8; average procrastination, n = 8; high procrastination, n = 6) was based on their scores on a questionnaire measuring the students’ levels of academic procrastination. From semi-structured interviews, six themes emerged that describe how students in the three groups deal with factors that influence the students’ learning: degree program choice, getting started with study activities, engagement in study activities, ways of reacting to failure, view of oneself, and study results. This study shows the importance of looking at differences in how students deal with certain factors possibly negatively influencing their learning. Within the group of students with average and high levels of academic procrastination, factors influencing their learning are regularly present. These factors lead to procrastination behavior among students with high levels of academic procrastination, but this seems not the case among students with an average level of academic procrastination.

Comparing the Costs and Benefits of Attending the Top Three U.S. Elementary Teacher Education Programs

This paper analyzed the costs and benefits of attending the top three U.S. elementary teacher education programs by examining how much emphasis is on general content knowledge (GCK), as opposed to general pedagogical knowledge (GPK), as opposed to methodological pedagogical knowledge (MPK), and how this ratio might have affected student outcomes on TIMSS compared to the top performing TIMSS countries in Europe and Asia. Three theoretical frames of reference guided this analysis: program model, field experience model, and status of teacher in society. Methodologically, this study relied mainly on peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2016 in the English language. It was found that although the ratio of GCK to GPK to MPK in the top three U.S. TED programs was similar to what has been reported about the top performing TIMSS countries, student outcomes on TIMSS don’t seem to have been affected due to the fact that performance on TIMSS seems to be stemming mainly from having a very rigorous K-12 education and only admitting the top academic achievers into TED programs.

Elementary Teacher Education in the Top Performing European TIMSS Countries: A Comparative Study

This paper analyzed elementary teacher education (hereafter ‘TED’) programs in the top performing European (TIMSS) countries to help inform future elementary TED policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methodological emphasis revolved around how much emphasis should be placed on general content knowledge (GCK), as opposed to general pedagogical knowledge (GPK), as opposed to methodological pedagogical knowledge (MPK). This study explored these questions while analyzing the elementary TED programs of Germany, Finland, and the U.K. relying mainly on peer-reviewed literature on these topics published between 2000 and 2016 in the English language. Three theoretical frames of reference, aside from TIMSS, were also analyzed during this process: whether the programs were consecutive or concurrent, the model of partnership followed between universities and institutions where field experiences took place, and the overall status and role of teachers in the society as categorized by career-based or position-based. It was found that the top performing European TIMSS countries usually: have consecutive and concurrent options; attract the top academic achievers into their programs; have strict filters for admission; provide very intensive TED experiences to their students focusing on practical and diverse field experiences; enforce students to major in at least one academic subject and place more emphasis on academic subject expertise than pedagogy; have challenging criteria (including exams and portfolios) for graduation from the program; have national accreditation institutes for unifying standards; their sponsor countries enforce various types of induction and professional development once in the field; and lastly these countries offer salaries competitive with other professions that require the same amount of years and training since they are usually career-based positions.

A University-Community Partnership in Teacher Education From the Perspectives of Community-Based Teacher Educators

This article examines the experiences of a group of nine community-based mentors of teacher candidates who partnered for several years through a local, community-based organization with the graduate elementary and secondary teacher education programs at a research university in the Pacific Northwest. Following a brief discussion of the history of partnerships between teacher education programs and local communities, we report the findings of a study of the perspectives of these community mentors on their work with teacher candidates and university teacher educators.

Analysis of six Taiwanese EFL student teachers’ professional learning from writing, discussing, and analyzing critical incidents

A critical incident is an unexpected event that occurs in the classroom. Teachers can uncover a new understanding of the teaching and learning process through reflecting on these critical incidents. This study explored the writing and discussion of critical incidents among six student teachers with their cooperating teachers in a practicum under the elementary school language teacher education program in a university in northwest Taiwan. The researcher used the conceptual framework designed based on Vygotskij’s sociocultural theory of learning to analyze the data. Critical incidents were used as tool-mediated activities. The analysis of critical incidents, observation notes, and interview transcripts revealed that student teachers gained professional learning in terms of individual learners’ differences, classroom management, instructional strategies, solutions to incidents, and reflections through discussing with student teachers and cooperating teachers. Three suggestions were provided in order to effectively integrate writing down and discussing critical incidents into practicum.

Meeting the demands of the C3 framework in elementary social studies methods

PurposeIn both elementary schools and elementary teacher education programs, social studies is marginalized while standards require increasingly more ambitious reasoning, reading, and writing in social studies than has historically been documented in American elementary schools. The purpose of this paper is to explain the challenges that elementary social studies teacher educators face in preparing elementary school teachers to facilitate the kind of ambitious social studies envisioned in the NCSS’s C3 Framework and advocate an approach to successfully address these challenges.Design/methodology/approachThis paper articulates a targeted and ambitious approach to elementary social studies teacher education. The authors describe five recommendations from the teacher education literature for supporting preservice teachers in learning disciplinary-oriented social studies teaching, recommendations that guided the redesign of the social studies methods course. The authors then highlight key aspects of the redesigned methods course and demonstrate how the authors engaged the challenges inherent in the work of elementary social studies teacher education.FindingsAlthough this paper is not arranged in such a way as to substantiate empirical findings, the purpose of the paper is to demonstrate an approach to elementary social studies education aligned with extant literature on preparing teachers to engage in reform teaching practices, specifically those disciplinary oriented practices suggested in NCSS’s C3 Framework. As such, the paper should be read as a perspective on practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe type of disciplinary-oriented approach described here is increasingly under investigation in secondary teacher education research and similar approaches are under investigation in elementary math and science education research. To the authors’ knowledge, the approach is novel in elementary social studies education. Furthermore, the authors believe it offers a direction for researchers interested in gaps in the literature related to practice based teacher education and disciplinary-oriented social studies teacher education.Practical implicationsThe approach described here offers specific guidance and resources for teacher educators who are struggling with the challenges of the contemporary social studies education landscape and/or who wish to focus methods courses in disciplinary ways.Social implicationsResearch in social studied education has demonstrated that when students are exposed to disciplinary practices in social studies, their literacy skills improve and they learn analytical skills that support their development as citizens (consumption of media, participation in public discourse, ability to discern arguments).Originality/valueAs noted above, the approach described here is novel in elementary social studies education. Combining a disciplinary approach with a practice-based frame in elementary social studies represents an opportunity for empirical research and offers new approaches to the practice of teacher education and early career professional development.

Elementary Preservice Teachers’ and Teacher Educators’ Perceptions of Financial Literacy Education

ABSTRACTThe authors conducted an online survey of elementary teacher education programs within a large midwestern state to assess preservice teachers’ and teacher educators’ beliefs about and preparedness to teach financial literacy. Very few preservice teachers had meaningful experiences with personal finance in high school, college, or personal decision making. No teacher educators reported ever teaching financial literacy in their higher education roles. Only 13% of teacher educators and 25% of preservice teachers thought that it was very important to teach financial literacy in elementary education. Most teacher education faculty and preservice teachers reported that they were not well qualified to use state economics standards or the JumpStart standards for financial literacy. Preservice teachers were more confident in meeting financial literacy standards than teacher educators. Both preservice teachers and teacher educators expressed openness to collaborating with other faculty members, members of the financial service industry, and parents to teach financial literacy. Follow-up phone interviews affirmed that elementary preservice teachers and teacher educators value social studies education (and financial literacy) less than reading and mathematics education. Qualitative results also suggest that elementary preservice teachers and teacher educators would like more easily accessible resources for teaching financial literacy.

Investigating Alignment Between Elementary Mathematics Teacher Education and Graduates' Teaching of Mathematics for Conceptual Understanding

In this article, Amanda Jansen, Dawn Berk, and Erin Meikle investigate the impact of mathematics teacher education on teaching practices. In their study they interviewed six first-year teachers who graduated from the same elementary teacher education program and who were oriented toward teaching mathematics conceptually. They observed each teacher teaching two lessons: one on a mathematics topic that was developed in their teacher education program (target topic) and one on a mathematics topic that was not addressed in their program (control topic). Based on their observations, the authors identified four instructional practices for teaching mathematics conceptually that the participants used in their classroom practice and found that these teachers were more likely to enact two of these instructional practices when teaching target topics: use of mathematical language to support students' sense making and use of visual representations. They also found that the teachers enacted two other instructional practices—use of story problems and pressing students for mathematical explanations—in both target and control topic lessons but did so with limitations in control topic lessons. For teacher education to influence teaching, the authors assert, it is important to develop content knowledge for teaching and pedagogical knowledge in tandem with developing beliefs.

Elementary Preservice Teacher Field Supervision: A Survey of Teacher Education Programs

ABSTRACTThere is a heightened focus within teacher education to centralize clinical experiences and develop strong partnerships between schools and universities. University field supervisors fulfill a critical role within clinical experiences because they are uniquely situated in spaces where they can help preservice teachers and school-based partners integrate theory and practice. However, historically, field supervision has been devalued within teacher education programs. The purpose of this research was to gain insight into how various teacher education programs are actualizing field experiences and specifically field supervision within this time of reform in teacher education. This survey explored the question, “What is the state of preservice teacher field supervision within elementary teacher education programs?” Findings from this study suggest teacher education programs surveyed are positioned to respond to reforms in the areas of enacting multiple field experiences as well as conceptualizing field supervision beyond observation and feedback. Findings can help teacher education programs begin to develop common understandings, goals, and nomenclature about actualizing reforms for clinically-rich teacher education.

Pre-service Preparation of Elementary School Teachers for Inclusive Education in Northern Mindanao, Philippines

The continuous push for 'ducation for All' suggests that there will be more learners with disability or exceptionality attending inclusive classrooms. The study attempted to look at how higher education institutions in Northern Mindanao or Region 10 were preparing non-special education elementary school teachers for inclusive education. Employing qualitative curriculum content analysis, 252 syllabi of the foundational courses in 21 Bachelor of Elementary Education degree programs for non-special education majors were examined to determine how they addressed literature-based inclusion competencies. The findings are reflective of those in similar studies. One or two introductory theoretical courses in special education were required in preparing elementary school teachers for inclusive education. Analysis revealed few cases of moderate to high coverage of the inclusion competencies in understanding exceptionality, collaboration, inclusive instructional strategies, and inclusive assessment under the professional education courses. There was a predominantly zero-to-low coverage of the inclusion competencies related to the concept of inclusive education and classroom management. The limited coverage of literature-based inclusion competencies prompted recommendations for the enhancement of elementary teacher education programs to effectively prepare teachers for inclusive classrooms.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEMATIC – INTEGRATED E-PORTFOLIO MEDIA WEB BLOG BASED TO INCREASE THE SCIENTIFIC LITERACY OF ELEMENTARY TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM’S STUDENT

The aim of this study is to improve the scientific literacy of Elementary Teacher Education Program’s students using a valid thematic-integrated e-portfolio media web blog based. Applied research and development methods for elementary school’s course planning by applying thematic-integrated e-portfolio media web blog based. The result of media and evaluation experts recommend that e-portfolio which has been developed gets 98.75% of eligibility percentage which means that it is very decent to be used in the lecturing. Thematic-Integrated e-portfolio media web blog based effectively improves the scientific literacy of students to reach multidimensional level, in which students are able to take advantage of various concepts and demonstrate the ability to connect these concepts to daily life. Students understand how science, society and technology are interrelated and influence each other. Students also demonstrate an understanding of the nature of science through his answer.

“I understand why people need to ease their emotions”: Exploring mindfulness and emotions in a conceptual physics classroom of an elementary teacher education program

In this manuscript we bring to focus student perceptions of salience (or lack of thereof) of emotions in the undergraduate conceptual physics course (in the teacher education program) and their relevance to teaching and learning. Our analysis of student responses to the Mindfulness in Education Heuristic constitutes a feedback loop affording the teacher reflection over his instructional practices. Hence, we ponder pedagogical tools employed by the class instructor (second author) that students identify as evoking emotional responses (both positive and negative). Furthermore, we highlight this teacher’s dispositions and his value system (axiology) that appear to bring to balance his passion for science (understood in a traditional Western way as a canon-based epistemology) and his approach to teaching that is driven by compassion towards his students many of whom perceive physics as challenging. We argue that adopting mindful disposition affords engaging in practices that assist in regulating emotions and attention that mediate learning of canonical science content. Likewise, we maintain that the instructor and his mindfulness-driven practices become a model to be replicated in his students’ future careers. In such context, mindfulness may be perceived as part of what is referred to as a hidden curriculum. It is our position, however, that the science classroom is a site where wellness-promoting practices (such as mindfulness) should receive an overt attention by becoming science content to be learned and practiced by all citizens throughout everyday life thus contributing to its improved quality. In recognizing that such position may be challenging to adopt by science educators, we present the way the second author has been grappling with reframing his thinking around teaching science. We encourage educators to utilize heuristic methodology towards reflecting on and informing their practice and as one way of exposing their students to social constructs such as mindfulness.

Elementary Classroom Teachers’ Beliefs Across Time: Learning to Teach Physical Education

This longitudinal research explored beginning elementary classroom teachers’ beliefs about learning to teach physical education (PE) across time. Understanding how beliefs shape the process of learning to teach PE can inform the design of more impactful physical education teacher education (PETE). We mapped beliefs over six years including the three years of an undergraduate elementary teacher education program and the first three years teaching in schools through reflective writing tasks and semistructured interviews. Across time these beginning teachers believed that learning to teach PE required active participation in PE content, building of a resource bank of content ideas, and practice of teaching the content. Building competence in PE content through active participation combined with development of more complex understandings of PE content through PETE pedagogies can better support elementary teachers learning to teach PE.

The Significance of Geographic and Programmatic Context in Developing Historical Case Studies in Social Foundations in Teacher Education

In the summer of 2008, we met at an alehouse in Columbia City, a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood on Seattle's south side, to begin conceptualizing and designing a School & Society class we were teaching that fall in a Master of Teaching (MIT) elementary teacher education program at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. One of us (Isaac) was working on a dissertation and was the instructor of record, while the other (Michael) was transitioning from master's to doctoral student, and was the teaching assistant. This was the first preservice teacher education social foundations course either of us had taught. The experience of working together on that course has led to several years of collaborative thinking about social foundations in teacher education, including developing what we call a “place-conscious approach”—an approach that grounds the political and normative questions at the heart of social foundations in the history of places in which preservice teachers learn to teach.

Preparing elementary school teachers for social studies instruction in the context of edTPA

In a context of high-stakes accountability in teacher education, concerns are emerging about challenges to the already tenuous position of elementary social studies teacher education. In this case study, the author administered a survey to elementary social studies teacher educators in Georgia and conducted follow-up interviews focusing on the impact of edTPA on elementary social studies teacher education and the ways in which they are navigating the new context of teaching elementary social studies methods. The findings reveal the possibility of further decline of social studies in elementary teacher education programs due to elementary edTPA׳s singular focus on literacy and math content pedagogy along with the high-stakes nature of edTPA process. Implications for future research on edTPA and elementary social studies education are discussed.

Mantle of the Expert: Integrating Dramatic Inquiry and Visual Arts in Social Studies

This article introduces the social studies field to Dorothy Heatchote's Mantle of Expert (MOE). MOE is a dramatic inquiry approach used in several subject areas and can work at all levels in the social studies curriculum. The authors go into the development of using this approach in an elementary and middle teacher education program. After sharing their modeling approach with preservice teachers in an elementary social studies methods course, the authors address what it means for preservice teachers to construct their own MOE social studies lesson plans and how teachers must think of their role as a performing art.

Disruptive design in pre-service teacher education: uptake, participation, and resistance

This paper begins the exploration of disruption as an analytical construct that allows for the investigation of how individual learning and changes in local practice mutually influence the other within a purposefully designed learning context. We seek to describe the types of learning experiences that emerged using disruptive pedagogies and tools within a series of methods courses in an undergraduate elementary teacher education program. The intent of the designed context was to disrupt the traditional practices of teacher education courses by creating a participatory environment where students participated in the creation of course content through their engagement with social media and each other. We define disruption as an innovation that requires students to challenge or change their epistemologies and participation in their learning. This paper addresses a designed disruption that was created in the context of an elementary methods course. The results demonstrated diverse consequences for participants, their activity, and our understanding of their learning. These findings provide a starting point for examining the implications of disruptive practices within pre-service teacher education programs.