Preparing tomorrow's teachers to use technology: attitudinal impacts of technology-supported field experience on pre-service teacher candidates.The research discussed in this manuscript manuscript, a handwritten work as distinguished from printing. The oldest manuscripts, those found in Egyptian tombs, were written on papyrus; the earliest dates from c.3500 B.C. was supported by a capacity building grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education as a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology Grant (PT3). The problem was to determine the effect on teacher candidates of a field experience in which candidates used technology to support the teaching of a science topic to elementary children. Pairs of teacher candidates were divided into three groups to provide science instruction in one of three ways: (1) instructing with the support of multi-media (HyperStudio(tm)), (2) instructing with the support of the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the , and (3) instructing without technology support (control group). Pre- and post surveys designed to measure attitudinal gains were administered to all participating teacher candidates. Findings revealed significant advantages associated with the inclusion of technology upon the attitudes of teacher candidates. Implications for maximizing the impact of technology in instruction are discussed. ********** Someone once defined a genius as a person who could find something hidden in plain sight. If something were hidden in plain sight, why would we need a genius to find it? It could be because we respond to the world from mental patterns that we have created during the learning process. As a result of these mental references something that is obvious or should be obvious isn't is·n't Contraction of is not. isn't is not isn't be obvious at all. It isn't until individuals retreat from pre-determined patterns that they can see things in a new way. At that point, the things that should have been obvious all along become visible. We shake our heads and wonder why we didn't did·n't Contraction of did not. didn't did not didn't do see it in the first place. For example, in today's world we accept controlled powered flight--airplanes--as common place. The physical laws that govern controlled powered flight have always been there. However, the Wright Brothers were the first to see those laws so they have been given credit for inventing controlled powered flight. They didn't accomplish this achievement over night. It took years before they finally discovered the secrets of flight. In addition to their passion for flying, the Wright Brothers had a bicycle bicycle, light, two-wheeled vehicle driven by pedals. The name velocipede is often given to early forms of the bicycle and to its predecessor, the dandy horse, a two-wheeled vehicle moved by the thrust of the rider's feet upon the ground. shop. After a great deal of experimentation, the secret to controlled powered flight was revealed when a cardboard Cardboard is a generic non-specific term for a heavy duty paper based product. Paperboard
Paperboard is a paper based material. It is often used for folding cartons, set-up boxes, carded packaging, etc. inner tube box was twisted and the brothers saw the way the wings of a plane could be shaped to achieve lift. They finally understood a principle that had been there all the time. Attitude remains the critical factor in feeding the drive toward progress. Had the Wright brothers not been actively seeking ways to use what they learned, the useful learning would have gone to waste. Implementation of beneficial innovations is driven by the motivational reinforcement reinforcement /re·in·force·ment/ (-in-fors´ment) in behavioral science, the presentation of a stimulus following a response that increases the frequency of subsequent responses, whether positive to desirable events, or of small successes experienced during the discovery process--testing and succeeding results in implementation. Without motivationally driven testing, discoveries remain undiscovered. The key is an attitude that focuses on seeing the discoverable, then trying it, and then making it an integral component of subsequent progress. The effective introduction of technology into instruction represents a struggle similar to those with which the Wright brothers and their contemporary competitors grappled. Among the more important factors is the importance of the attitudes of teachers toward seeing ways in which technology can assist in instruction, and then leveraging that positive attitude toward incorporating technology into instruction. If teachers and future teachers do not have positive attitudes toward the usefulness of technology in instruction and toward actually using technology in instruction, then even the best systems and methodologies will remain unused. Teacher attitudes have long been understood as an important factor in educational progress. For example, teacher candidates may lack favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. attitudinal patterns related to their anticipation of the impact of teaching with technology. After being instructed with new methods during their formal training it appears necessary for them to experience the reaction of students in a classroom environment (von Glasersfeld, 1993). Teacher candidates are more readily able to change their attitude about a method once they see the reaction of students and the effectiveness of the method when they can actually apply it in a classroom. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , they discover the secret that has been hidden in plain sight. The notion of capitalizing upon the influence of actual classroom application has been around at least as long as John Dewey. He (1933) asserted that the primary purpose of teacher education should be to provide experiences for teacher candidates in actual classroom settings that enable them to internalize internalize To send a customer order from a brokerage firm to the firm's own specialist or market maker. Internalizing an order allows a broker to share in the profit (spread between the bid and ask) of executing the order. best practice. Kagan Kagan is a surname, and may refer to:
The criticality of incorporating technology into classroom instruction is of seminal seminal /sem·i·nal/ (sem´i-n'l) pertaining to semen or to a seed. sem·i·nal adj. Of, relating to, containing, or conveying semen or seed. importance because the appropriate use of technology to support instruction improves student learning outcomes. (Farnsworth Farns·worth , Philo Taylor 1906-1971. American electrical engineer who as early as 1927 demonstrated a working television system. , et. al., 2002) Teacher candidates must be prepared to utilize technology in instruction as public sentiment calls for educational improvement. It is the responsibility of teacher educators to convince future teachers of the power of using technology in instruction --technology that helps teachers teach better and students learn better. In the past, the inclusion of technology in the regular classroom curriculum was a relatively weak component of teacher preparation (Yildirim, 2000). To respond to this challenge, a federal grant, Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology (PT3), provided resources to determine what teacher training institutions need to do to help future teachers learn skills for using technology in order to increase the learning advantage for all students. The issue becomes whether the efforts of teacher educators to promote the instructional use of technology can be enhanced by including a field experience in the public schools in which teacher candidates use technology while teaching content. This research question becomes even more important in light of other research in teacher education regarding the opportunity to apply methods in actual school settings. Laffey & Musser (1998) found that teachers in training usually do NOT appreciate the power of technology in instruction. Persichitte, et. al. (1999) and Stuhlmann (1998) discovered that an appreciation for the instructional use of technology is gained following fieldwork field·work n. 1. A temporary military fortification erected in the field. 2. Work done or firsthand observations made in the field as opposed to that done or observed in a controlled environment. 3. that includes a technology component. Sherry sherry [from Jérez], naturally dry fortified wine, pale amber to brown in tint. The term sherry originally referred to wines made from grapes grown in the region of Jérez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain; today it may refer to any of the (2000) and Powell Powell See Osceola. & Lord (1998) reported that attitudinal changes result from technologically-supported field work in conjunction with a technology/media training. What is lacking are methods for maximizing teacher candidate attitudes regarding the effectiveness of instruction that is supported by technology. As a part of the capacity building PT3 grant awarded to Utah Valley State College Utah Valley State College or UVSC, is a publicly-funded college located in Orem, Utah. Although the college has many courses of study, including an increasing number of bachelor's degree programs, it still retains many of its trade and technical school roots. in 1999 we were interested in studying the changes in teacher candidate attitudes with respect to technology integration. The problem was to determine how requiring the use of technology in field teaching experiences would affect those attitudes. Methods Subjects The subjects consisted of 62 pre-service elementary education elementary education or primary education Traditionally, the first stage of formal education, beginning at age 5–7 and ending at age 11–13. majors (teacher candidates) in their junior year of the teacher education program of Utah Valley State College. Design A pretest-posttest, experimental-control design was used. The same college faculty member instructed all 62 teacher candidates in a technology integration methods course and a science content course. Candidates were assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. in pairs to teach assigned science content (levers) using a hands-on hands-on adj. Involving active participation; applied, as opposed to theoretical: "We're involved in hands-on operations, pulling levers, pushing buttons" Arthur R. Taylor. approach but were distinguished by the type of additional instruction they received and subsequently provided to elementary students to supplement a uniformly implemented hands-on activity: Candidates in the multi-media experimental group engaged elementary children in the creation of a multi-media presentation about levers using the HyperStudio(tm) application (HyperStudio(tm) Software, 1998). Candidates in the Internet group engaged children in technology-based search activities using selected Internet sites. Candidates in the control group invited children to describe their hands-on experience in writing and with a diagram diagram /di·a·gram/ (di´ah-gram) a graphic representation, in simplest form, of an object or concept, made up of lines and lacking pictorial elements. . Candidates in both experimental groups were provided with laptop computers A portable computer that has a flat LCD screen and usually weighs less than eight pounds. Often called just a "laptop," it uses batteries for mobile use and AC power for charging the batteries and desktop use. Today's high-end laptops provide all the capabilities of most desktop computers. for the purposes of the study. Instrument Attitudes of teacher candidates about the inclusion of technology in instruction were assessed both before and after the field experience through an 11-item attitudinal survey (the "ATTL ATTL AT&T Latin America Corp (stock symbol) "--see appendix) requiring candidates to report their attitudes by circling the appropriate number on a Likert scale Likert scale A subjective scoring system that allows a person being surveyed to quantify likes and preferences on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the least important, relevant, interesting, most ho-hum, or other, and 5 being most excellent, yeehah important, etc from 0 to 5, indicating no agreement and complete agreement, respectively. The same instrument was used prior to the elementary classroom-based field experience as a pretest pre·test n. 1. a. A preliminary test administered to determine a student's baseline knowledge or preparedness for an educational experience or course of study. b. A test taken for practice. 2. , and then immediately following as a posttest post·test n. A test given after a lesson or a period of instruction to determine what the students have learned. . Results Attitudinal ratings were analyzed an·a·lyze tr.v. an·a·lyzed, an·a·lyz·ing, an·a·lyz·es 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of. 3. for individual items across occasions (pre and posttest) and groups. Additionally, a composite score was created as a sum of responses to the 11 items. Composite Scores Data collectively indicated that teacher candidates in the experimental groups that used technology to support instruction experienced statistically significant better attitudes toward technology inclusion than those that did not use technology (control group). Table 1 summarizes descriptive statistics descriptive statistics see statistics. for groups by test occasion. Figure 1 provides a graphic depiction of the means. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Table 2 provides the analysis of variance The discrepancy between what a party to a lawsuit alleges will be proved in pleadings and what the party actually proves at trial. In Zoning law, an official permit to use property in a manner that departs from the way in which other property in the same locality for composite scores. Results indicate that teacher candidates that used technology in their field experiences displayed significantly higher attitudes toward using technology in instruction than did candidates in the control group. Additionally, attitudes increased significantly for candidates in the multi-media group (t=2.17, df=42, p<.05) and Internet group (t=1.87, df=40, p<.05), but did not change significantly for the control group, although they did show a decrease. When survey data were analyzed for individual items, no significant differences were found for nine of the survey items, either between groups or across occasions. Two of the items, however, did yield statistically significant patterns, indicating further that candidates showed higher attitudes toward including technology in instruction when they used technology in classroom settings during their field experience. Including Technology Helps Students Learn Better Table 3 summarizes descriptive statistics for groups by test occasion. Figure 2 provides a graphic depiction of the means. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] An analysis of variance with repeated measures for occasion verified ver·i·fy tr.v. ver·i·fied, ver·i·fy·ing, ver·i·fies 1. To prove the truth of by presentation of evidence or testimony; substantiate. 2. a significant experimental effect (Table 4). No significant differences existed between teacher candidates in any group at the pre-field experience, or pretest occasion. Posttest data indicated that teacher candidates in the multi-media experimental group experienced significant increases in attitude (t=1.79, df=42, p<.05) and showed significantly higher attitudinal ratings than the control group (Tukey and Scheffe post-hoc multiple comparisons). The control group experienced a significant loss in attitude (t=-1.85, df=40, p<.05) and showed significantly lower attitudinal ratings than the multi-media group. Attitudes in the Internet experimental group showed no significant change. Including Technology Helps Teachers Teach Better The pattern of results associated with attitudes regarding the idea that technology helps teachers teach better mirrored the pattern found for attitudes toward technology inclusion for helping students learn better. Table 5 summarizes descriptive statistics for groups by test occasion. Figure 3 provides a graphic depiction of the means. [FIGURE 3 OMITTED] An analysis of variance with repeated measures for occasion (Table 6) verified a significant experimental effect. No significant differences existed between teacher candidates in any group at the pre-field experience, or pretest occasion. Posttest data indicated that teacher candidates in the multi-media experimental group experienced significant increases in attitude (t=2.50, df=40, p<.05) and showed significantly higher attitudinal ratings than the control group (Tukey and Scheffe post-hoc multiple comparisons). The control group experienced a significantly loss in attitude ratings (t=-1.86, df=40, p<.05) and showed significantly lower ratings than the multi-media group. Attitudes in the Internet experimental group did not change significantly. Conclusion The results would suggest that an appropriate field experience provides a positive tool for affecting the attitudes of teacher candidates with regards to the use of technology in supporting instruction. Of interest is the consistent result obtained from teacher candidates who did not use technology in their field experience. The results indicated a slight decline in the attitudes of those teacher candidates regarding technology and instruction. Further investigations of this issue are recommended. Additional research regarding the effects of long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. technology implementation could also provide helpful insight into preparing teachers to use technology in the classroom to support instruction. The learning curve associated with involving children with technology can be rather lengthy, and a more lengthened length·en tr. & intr.v. length·ened, length·en·ing, length·ens To make or become longer. length  en·er n. opportunity to use technology
while teaching children could have an even more profound influence on
attitude, particularly as the children became more
technologically-proficient.
Appendix
ATTL: Elementary Student's Attitudes Toward Technology and Learning
School code:-- Grade:--
Teacher code:-- Date:--
Instructions:
Please respond to the following item using the rating scale
from 0 to 5.
0 is the lowest score.
5 is the highest score.
Please be honest. Circle your best answer.
Not All the
at all time
Computers
1. I like using a computer for school
projects 0 1 2 3 4 5
2. I learn better using a computer than
using only books. 0 1 2 3 4 5
3. Learning with a computer is more fun than
learning only books. 0 1 2 3 4 5
Using the Internet
4. I like using the Internet for
school projects 0 1 2 3 4 5
5. Learning with the lnternet is more
fun than learning with only books. 0 1 2 3 4 5
Using Multi-media
6. I like using Multi-media for school
projects. 0 1 2 3 4 5
7. Telling a story using Multi-media is more
fun than telling a story without
multi-media. 0 1 2 3 4 5
Teaching with Technology
8. Technology helps me, the teacher, learn
better. 0 1 2 3 4 5
9. When elementary teachers use Technology
It helps students learn better. 0 1 2 3 4 5
10. When elementary teachers use Technology
it helps them teach better. 0 1 2 3 4 5
11. When elementary students use Technology
it helps them learn better. 0 1 2 3 4 5
Table 1
Descriptive Statistics for Composite Scores
Pretest Posttest
n Mean Std Dev n Mean Std Dev
Multi-media 22 43.67 5.56 22 47.32 5.45
Internet 20 41.25 6.48 20 44.00 7.35
Control 20 42.20 7.56 20 40.53 9.73
Table 2
Analysis of Variance for Composite Scores
SS df MS F P
Between Subjects 793.51 61
Group 3565.18 2 1782.59 127.71 .000
S/A 823.51 59 13.96
Within Subjects 223587.50 62
Occasion 7235.77 1 7235.77 1.96 ns
AB Interaction 13304.69 2 6652.34 1.80 ns
SB/A 217518.58 59 3686.76
Total 222793.99 123
Table 3
Descriptive Statistics for: When Elementary Teachers Use
Technology it Helps Students Learn Better
Pretest Posttest
n Mean Std Dev n Mean Std Dev
Multi-media 22 3.86 0.57 22 4.32 0.65
Internet 20 3.90 0.72 20 3.83 0.93
Control 20 3.80 0.89 20 3.42 1.23
Table 4
Analysis of Variance for: When Elementary Teachers Use
Technology it Helps Students Learn Better
SS df MS F p
Between Subjects 32.18 61
Group 31.46 2 15.73 425.84 .000
S/A 2.18 59 0.04
Within Subjects 1986.29 62
Occasion 0.27 1 0.27 0.01 ns
AB Interaction 54.00 2 27.00 0.82 ns
SB/A 1932.02 59 32.57
Total 2018.47 123
Table 5
Descriptive Statistics for: When Elementary Teachers Use
Technology it Helps Them Teach Better
Pretest Posttest
n Mean Std Dev n Mean Std Dev
Multi-media 22 4.00 0.76 22 4.36 0.58
Internet 20 4.05 0.51 20 3.89 0.79
Control 20 4.00 0.92 20 3.47 0.88
Table 6
Analysis of Variance for: When Elementary Teachers Use
Technology it Helps Them Teach Better
SS df MS F p
Between Subjects 60.93 61
Group 47.63 1 47.63 214.93 .000
S/A 13.30 60 0.22
Within Subjects 1860.93 62
Occasion 20.38 1 20.38 0.66 ns
AB Interaction 32.19 2 16.10 0.53 ns
SB/A 1808.36 59 30.65
Total 1921.85 123
References Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: a restatement Restatement A revision in a company's earlier financial statements. Notes: The need for restating financial figures can result from fraud, misrepresentation, or a simple clerical error. of the relation of reflective Refers to light hitting an opaque surface such as a printed page or mirror and bouncing back. See reflective media and reflective LCD. thinking to the educative ed·u·ca·tive adj. Educational. Adj. 1. educative - resulting in education; "an educative experience" instructive, informative - serving to instruct or enlighten or inform process. Boston Boston, town, England Boston, town (1991 pop. 26,495), E central England, on the Witham River. Boston's fame as a port dates from the 13th cent., when it was a Hanseatic port trading wool and wine. Having recovered from a decline in the 18th and 19th cent. : Heath heath, tract of open land heath, tract of open land characterized by a few scattered trees, abundant moss cover, and numerous low shrubs, principally of the heath family (see heath, in botany). HyperStudio(r) Software for a Mediacentric World: Tutorial An instructional book or program that takes the user through a prescribed sequence of steps in order to learn a product. Contrast with documentation, which, although instructional, tends to group features and functions by category. See tutorials in this publication. . (1987). El Cajon El Cajon (ĕl kähōn`), city (1990 pop. 88,693), San Diego co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. Electronic equipment, aircraft parts, irrigation equipment, furniture, and men's suits are among its manufactures. , CA: Roger Wagner Roger Wagner (January 16, 1914 - September 17, 1992) was a driving force in choral music, one of the giants who for five decades championed and refined the art and propelled it forth around the world. His musical and personal impact was profound. Publishing Inc. Guskey, T.R. (1986). Staff development and the process of teacher change. Educational Researcher, 15(4), 5-12. Farnsworth, B., Shaha, S., Bahr, D., Lewis, V.. & Benson. L. (2002). Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology: Learning and Attitudinal Impacts on Elementary Students. (in press) Kagan, D. M. (1992). Professional growth among preservice and beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 2, 129-169. Laffey & Musser, (1998). Attitudes of Preservice Teachings about using Technology. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 6, 223-242. Persichitte, K., Caffarella, E., & Tharp, D. (1999). Technology Integration in Teacher Preparation: A Qualitative Research Qualitative research Traditional analysis of firm-specific prospects for future earnings. It may be based on data collected by the analysts, there is no formal quantitative framework used to generate projections. Study. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 7, 219-234 von Glaserseld, E. (1984). An introduction to radical constructivism constructivism, Russian art movement founded c.1913 by Vladimir Tatlin, related to the movement known as suprematism. After 1916 the brothers Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner gave new impetus to Tatlin's art of purely abstract (although politically intended) . In P. Watzlawick (Ed.), The invented reality (pp. 17-40). New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : W. W. Norton Powell, J. & Lord, L. (1998). Toward Qualitative Assessment of a Computer-based Simulation in Preservice Field Experience: A Survey Pilot Study. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 6, 115-124 Sherry, A. (2000). Expanding the View of Preservice Teachers' Computer Literacy Understanding computers and related systems. It includes a working vocabulary of computer and information system components, the fundamental principles of computer processing and a perspective for how non-technical people interact with technical people. : Implications from Written and Verbal Data and Metaphors as Freehand See Macromedia FreeHand. Drawings. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 8, 187-218. Stuhlmann, J. (1998). A Model for Infusing Technology into Teacher Training Programs. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 6, 125-140 Yildirim, S. (2000). Effects of an educational computing computing - computer course on preservice and inservice teachers: a discussion and analysis of attitudes and use. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32(4), 479. Damon L. Bahr, Associate Professor, Department of Education. Steven H. Shaha, Consultant, Department of Education. Briant J. Farnsworth, Dean, School of Education. Valerie K. Lewis, Consultant, Department of Education. Linda F. Benson, Chair, Department of Education, Utah Valley State College. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Damon L. Bahr, Department of Education, Utah Valley State College, Mail Stop 126, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem, UT 84058-5999; email: bahrda@uvsc.edu |
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