The purpose this study was to explore how a veteran first-grade teacher collaboratively negotiated the implementation of a project with her students while, at the same time, addressed grade-level standards. Researchers investigated the teacher's strategies for integrating the district's standards into project topics, investigative activities, and final presentations. They also examined the teacher's strategies for promoting students' participation in project planning and independent problem-solving. Data sources included field notes, teacher interviews, videotaped observations, and transcribed teacher, and student interviews. As an extension to teacher-directed approaches to implementing the project approach, the results of this study revealed a collaborative approach to implementing projects that allowed the teacher and the students to work together for project planning and learning. The teacher felt successful with meeting grade level learning needs, and the students were given the opportunity to fuel their learning by expressing their natural interests and curiosities, and become problem solvers.
In an ejiort to reform a teacher education program by strengthening content-area preparation and adding opportunities to practice by extending the time for student teaching, Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College eliminated a group of teacher education courses, including the standalone educational technology course. Educational technology faculty members were charged with developing an alternative approach of infusing technology into methods courses. Our first step was to conduct this benchmarking study of the standalone course to determine the successful lessons and practices that should be incorporated into the new program design. Results from analysis of pre-and post-course survey results and focus-group data indicated that candidates' confidence and TPACK scores increased in the standalone course. We will share benchmarks that arose from the study with program developers for adoption or adaptation to the new technologyinfused courses where appropriate. Findings may also be useful to other teacher credentialing institutions that are changing to a technology-infused instructional approach. (
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.