Teaching and Learning With Technology: Preparing 21st-Century Educators

• In Event: 32.038 - Advancing Equitable Student Learning Through Teacher Preparation and Professional Development Innovations That Leverage Learning Technologies

Abstract

This paper introduces the redesigned course “Teaching and Learning with Technology” as part of the teacher education program at a large Midwestern research university. The global impact of technology has implications not only for citizenship in the 21st century, but also for the role that educators play in teaching the skills that students need to acquire to become active citizens in digital spaces. A key challenge of today’s participatory culture (Jenkins, 2009), however, is the digital gap that divides individuals who possess the ability to produce and distribute self-created content, and those who do not have the competencies required to take part in such practices. In this context, many scholars and policy-makers see educators as central to addressing such disparity by preparing students to gain the experiences, skills and knowledge to be life and career-ready in the 21st century (Davies, 2011; Jenkins, 2009; National Research Council, 2011; Wilson et al., 2013). However, while many preservice teachers are familiar with digital technologies, research has showed that their digital skills do not necessarily transfer to teaching and learning (Thompson et al., 2015), and that they would benefit from gaining digital media and technology-related pedagogical skills (Kovalik, Kuo et al., 2013; Schieble, 2010; Tondeur et al., 2012). The question remained: What digital skills and concepts should preservice teachers be familiar with to prepare students for 21st century participatory culture?

We addressed this question by performing a literature review comparing digital media and technology-related skills and standards recommended by international (i.e., United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and national (i.e., Common Core Standards) frameworks for students and teachers. A content analysis of these documents was completed in order to extract the main themes across international recommendations and national educational standards. We also administered a survey to preservice teachers (n=73) in the traditional course to better understand their perspectives, abilities, and needs related to digital media and technology. The survey was analyzed with the qualitative software SPSS. We then used both data sources as a basis to redesign the course content and structure.

The analysis of both data sources guided the course redesign, which was newly structured as follow: (i) online professional development, (ii) technology-related concepts, (iii) pedagogy with technology, and (iv) affordances of technology for teaching and learning. Themes included in each category cover a range of topic including but not limited to Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (Mishra et al., 2006), Universal Design for Learning (Rose, 2000), Computational Thinking (Wings, 2006), Media & Information Literacy (Wilson et al., 2013), and educational games. By addressing the skills and concepts needed for students to become active agents in their digital participatory culture, this project contributes to the conversation on approaches to the use of technology for equity in teacher education programs and educator professional development. More importantly, it highlights the recognized need for the integration of a 21st century pedagogy in teacher education, and proposes active solutions through the design of a course aiming to address these issues.

Author

• Sarah Gretter, Michigan State University