Educator Preparation and Technology: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

By Mark J. Hofer, Teresa Foulger, Kevin J. Graziano, John K. Lee, Denise Schmidt-Crawford and David Slykhuis

AACTE is partnering with the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) to provide AACTE members with a reduced rate for the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETC) professional development modules. Learn more about the series of self-paced online courses from the TETC research team.

Looking back, it seems as if we have been on an almost impossible journey. In response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, we faced the closure of campuses and an abrupt and extraordinarily difficult transition to remote teaching and learning. Given the relational and experiential nature of teaching, remote learning has been particularly difficult for teacher preparation programs. We found it extraordinarily difficult to replace the modeling and mentoring that our pre-service teachers needed using remote experiences. Working from home and balancing various responsibilities including caring for loved ones and supporting our own children’s learning only added to the challenge. Undoubtedly, this has been one of the most challenging times many of us have ever experienced.

And yet, despite all this, there have been some bright spots. Faculty have explored new ways of guiding learning, developed a range of new skills with educational technologies, and were reminded of the value and importance of deep human connection in teaching and learning (Ferdig et al., 2020). Some faculty have even reported that they are planning to carry over aspects of remote teaching when they transition back to the “normalcy” in our schools and classrooms; whatever that will be (also, see these hopeful posts on the AACTE blog, Clausen, et al, 2021; Hyler, 2020; Slykhuis, 2020).

Developing Technology Excellence in Teachers Requires Lots of Practice

By Teresa Foulger, Kevin J. Graziano and Arlene Borthwick

This article originally appeared on the ISTE blog and is reprinted with permission.

If teacher candidates are to learn how to integrate technology, teacher educators and PK-12 mentor teachers must value, promote and demand that technology be an essential element to good teaching. Furthermore, teacher candidates and novice teachers must have ample opportunities to practice teaching with technology during their field experiences and student teaching.

A new paradigm for practice

In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes about the connection between practice and success. Experts, he writes, do not “float effortlessly to the top while practicing a fraction of the time their peers did.” Gladwell believes dedicating an enormous amount of time to practice is one of the most important factors in developing excellence. As such, “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

Educators concerned with developing expertise remind us that not all practice is created equal. In a recent blog post, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (2018), writes, “…at any level of skill, (if you) practice in the same way you always have you’ll get the same results you always have.” Applying a more purposeful and powerful conception of practice to educational technology calls for teacher educators and PK–12 mentor teachers to distinguish between time spent in repetitive activities to integrate research-based teaching from how time practicing is actually spent as a way to improve teaching with technology.

AACTE Committee Members Honored with Prestigious Research Award

By Kevin J. Graziano

Current and former members of the AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology (I&T) were recognized with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2020 Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education (JDLTE) Outstanding Research Paper Award for their case study research, “TPACK Leadership Diagnostic Tool: Adoption and Implementation by Teacher Education Leaders” (Clausen, Finsness, Borthwick, Graziano, Carpenter, & Herring, 2019). Recipients of the award include: Jon Clausen, Ball State University; Elizabeth Finsness, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Arlene Borthwick, National Louis University; Kevin Graziano, Nevada State College; Jeffrey Carpenter, Elon University; and Mary Herring, University of Northern Iowa. The research award affirms the long-term work and impact of the AACTE I&T Committee.

The case study examined how the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) leadership diagnostic tool was used by teacher education leaders who established and sustained organizational and learning environments for TPACK-based initiatives at three institutions. Participants indicated all components in the tool were relevant for planning and implementing their TPACK initiatives. Participants “used the diagnostic tool to engage with others about their initiatives, to consider how physical spaces and personnel could be repurposed in support of their initiatives, and to think critically about prioritizing competing political, financial, and contextual demands” (Clausen et al., 2019, p. 64).