Academic literature on the topic 'Blended teacher education'

Although research supports the blended learning methodology as a way to personalize and engage students, research also documents the widespread hesitation among educators when it comes to embracing technology. District leaders believe that such is the case in an upper Midwest school district where all high school students are provided devices, yet these leaders note that few teachers are fully exploiting the tools. Framed by the connectivism and social constructivism theories, this qualitative case study focused on teachers' views of blended learning, its influence on their teaching practices, and how they see it helping students to learn. The guiding research questions addressed the successes and challenges of blended learning, including how Moodle was used for formative e-assessment. Data were collected from 12 purposefully selected high school teachers by a questionnaire, 3 different observations in each of their classrooms, computer screenshots provided by participants, and 3 semi-structured interviews per teacher. Open coding produced common themes during the data analysis. Findings show that these teachers believe that blended learning promotes individualization, collaboration, organization, engagement, real-world relevance, and student-centered learning. While they agreed that blended learning supported their practice, challenges were cited such as students disengaging in the learning process, device and infrastructure concerns, and the time to integrate technology effectively. Based upon these findings, professional learning communities were designed to improve teacher pedagogy for using blended learning. This study may serve as a model for staff from other schools who are integrating higher levels of technologies as they try to level the playing field and prepare students to be global citizens with the necessary 21st century skills.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand teacher perceptions of blended learning as an instructional methodology for addressing the needs of diverse learners. The researcher explored the perceptions of teachers who were participating in an ongoing professional development program within their school district. This program focused on improving teaching and learning through the implementation of a blended learning approach. The researcher examined the experiences of teachers as they learned to adapt pedagogical practices to address the learning needs of 21st century students through blended learning. The researcher sought to gain a better understanding of how teachers perceived that utilizing a blended learning methodology impacted pedagogical beliefs, practices, and student learning. Based on the research questions guiding this study, data was collected from individual, in-depth interviews with fifteen educators. Twelve participants were classroom teachers and three participants were school administrators. The analysis of this data identified the following commonalities regarding teacher perceptions of blended learning as an instructional methodology for addressing the needs of diverse learners: knowledge and understanding of effective instructional practices, enhancing instruction with the strategic use of technology, personalizing learning, technology-enabled assessments to support instruction, engaging and empowering learners, and relevant professional development and support. These results can benefit educators in adapting effective instructional practices to reach all learners.

This dissertation centers on competencies for K-12 online and blended teaching. Article 1, published in Distance Education, is the literature review, which compares K-12 online and blended teaching competencies. We found that online and blended teaching share personalization as the most salient competency, but that blended teaching competencies emphasize pedagogical skill sets and online teaching competencies emphasize managing the online course. Article 2, published in the Journal of Online Learning Research, is an analysis of selected literature from Article 1, which analyzes the modality in which competencies occur (online or digital context, face-to-face context, generic, or blended). Over half of the competencies analyzed were deemed generic, or not specific enough to denote which modality in which they occur, and 30% of competencies were for an online or digital context, and a very few competencies were specifically for face-to-face modality, and blended competencies made up Article 3 is a description of the validation of a Blended Teaching Assessment of five competency areas associated with blended teaching: (a) technology skills, dispositions, and digital citizenship, (b) technology-mediated interactions, (c) blending online and in-person learning, (d) personalization, and (e) real-time data practices. While the confirmatory factor analysis showed minimal evidence of validity, we believe this is an important first step to building an objective assessment of blended teaching skills, and the assessment should be refined and further analyzed if it is to be used for summative purposes.

This multiple-article dissertation explores K-12 blended teacher preparation. A literature review describes research trends from 88 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. It reports that current K-12 blended teacher preparation research focuses on explorations of blended teaching literature; professional development and coursework used for blended teacher preparation; defining, developing, and implementing blended teaching competencies; and measuring blended teaching readiness. The literature review suggests that additional work is needed to uncover specific practices that K-12 blended teachers are using across disciplines and grade levels, as well as whether there are specific pedagogies that seem to be effective within specific disciplines and grade levels. The second article provides insight into these K-12 blended pedagogies. Researchers gathered more than 1500 examples of K-12 blended teaching practices, strategies, resources, and school profiles from The Learning Accelerator (TLA) to uncover how practices of blended teachers relate to proposed competencies for blended teacher preparation. Coding a representative sample of resources (372 of the 959 relevant resources, providing a confidence interval of 95% +/- 4) revealed that some technology skills seen as foundational to blended teaching readiness and some blended teaching competencies may be less important for K-12 blended teachers than others. Future research should address whether the skills that appear to be less emphasized from the artifact analysis are less used in practice or seek to identify specific pedagogical practices around the skills and competencies that this analysis identified as important to K-12 blended teaching. The final article presents best practices and experiences within the blended competency area of personalization. Researchers conducted interviews with 62 blended teachers with various levels of blended teaching experience across 10 different content areas and all K-12 grade levels. Researchers found that teachers provide students with personalization across students' time, place, pace, path, and goals for learning within their classes' learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities. These findings provide a foundational framework for describing the ways in which blended learning can facilitate personalization.

<p> This study was designed to involve a variety of research methods, resulting in a mixed methods, case study approach to investigate best teaching practices in an elementary blended learning environment. The research-based evaluation work of Charlotte Danielson was incorporated as the theoretical framework for this research. Differing methods of tablet use were observed in 10 classrooms while data was collected on student engagement. Blended learning is among best teaching practices, though surprisingly, educators in this study were not familiar with blended learning models and techniques. The term "blended learning" in the context of this K-5 study meant utilizing different technology devices as a means to enhance teaching. Many educators are utilizing tablets in their classrooms on a daily basis without adequate professional development. The influx of tablets in America's schools has not been well planned nor have professional development opportunities provided teachers with the necessary training to fully implement and integrate best practice in their classrooms. Findings from this study help fill the gap in elementary level and rural area schools. Results from this research indicate that blended learning tools enrich the elementary school classroom. Tablet usage in this study demonstrated seamless bridging for all levels of academic achievement. Students were observed utilizing metacognitive skills when collaborating with their peers and demonstrating their learning through projects on their tablets. Three themes emerged from the interview data. First, blended learning and the integration of technology as a best practice supports current literature. The second theme involved professional development, including teachers' desire for both building- and district-level support as well as the frequency of professional development, and teacher technology support. And third, the school is the vehicle for teacher collaboration, differentiation for students, and engagement of students.</p>

Adjunct faculty comprise a large percentage of part-time faculty for many colleges and universities today. Adjunct faculty are hired because they are experts in their content areas; however, this does not guarantee that they are skilled in effective classroom management. These instructors can become bewildered and frustrated because they lack the knowledge and skills that are needed to run an effective classroom. While educational organizations have adopted blended learning environments as an effective delivery method for their students, this method has not gained much traction as a way to deliver instruction to their own employees. Thus, there are opportunities to use blended learning as a strategy for professional development in the workplace. What is more common in the workplace is the application of knowledge management (KM). KM is used in organizations to identify, share, and validate knowledge in order to improve individual and organizational performance. Blended learning combined with KM strategies, can leverage face-to-face and online instruction delivery methods to give adjunct faculty real-time support as they learn to implement specific instructional methods and classroom management techniques into their face-to-face classrooms. The goal was to construct and validate a blended learning professional development course for adjunct faculty. Design and development research methods were used to conduct the study in four phases. In phase one, a course design framework that integrated the four modes of the SECI KM model (i.e., socialization, externalization, internalization, and combination) was developed. Included with the framework was a mapping of the learning outcomes, knowledge type, and activities associated with each SECI mode. In phase two, an expert panel reviewed the framework and mapping. The Delphi technique was used to capture panel members’ feedback. Revisions to the framework and mapping were made based on the results of the expert review. In phase three, the framework was used to develop the course within the Desire2Learn learning management system. In phase four, a formative evaluation of the course was conducted using focus groups with key stakeholders including faculty, staff, and administrators. The sequential nature of the phases in which the professional development course was designed and developed resulted in a refined instantiation of the course, which was received positively by key stakeholders; however, summative and confirmative evaluations would be needed to determine the effectiveness of the course delivery and content, as well as, whether the course is viable over time. The incorporation of the SECI principles for faculty professional development was also determined to be worthy of continued consideration. Future research focusing on the implementation of SECI principles to guide instructional design in various online and blended learning contexts is recommended.

Actualmente uno de los problemas centrales en la investigación en la didáctica para enseñanza y aprendizaje es encontrar maneras para concretar cómo deben ser los ejes de la formación del profesorado para poder actuar conforme a las exigencias de la red inteligente y el mundo interconectado. Esta tesis doctoral examina los affordances para la interacción que conduce a la formación del profesorado, alineándose a los requisitos formales de una enseñanza-aprendizaje de calidad y ofrecida por el uso integrado de la telecolaboración. Los objetivos principales de la investigación son explorar de manera cualitativa la participación de los maestros en formación en este contexto de aprendizaje integrado, analizar las vías en las que estos se relacionaron con profesionales de diferentes experiencias y con usos de los recursos propuestos por la formadora y analizar la adquisición gradual de competencias profesionales de los mismos estudiantes. Para ello se ha usado un método mixto en la recogida y análisis de datos. Este se realizó a partir de datos etnográficos para delimitar la experiencia subjetiva de tres futuros maestros de inglés como lengua extranjera en el proceso de participación en pedagogía con tecnología educativa. Los resultados de este proceso fueron examinados cuantitativamente para seleccionar los más destacados y estos fueron analizados de manera secuencial usando teorías de aprendizaje sociocultural y dialógico. El objetivo de esta última estrategia era seguir el proceso de construcción de conocimiento y las conexiones cognitivas que se formaron entre el contexto universitario y el virtual a lo largo de la experiencia formativa. Los resultados evidencian que se da el desarrollo de habilidades a nivel epistemológico, pedagógico y reflexivo, y que responden a la formación demandada por la realidad social. La investigación concluye con una reflexión crítica sobre la relación entre el aprendizaje participativo como proceso guiado y como producto y, distingue las implicaciones pedagógicas del modelo de aprendizaje analizado como un modelo potente para una formación del profesorado de calidad.<br>A central issue in current research on teaching and learning is finding ways to make teacher education a more tangible concept in order to respond to the exponentially mounting demands of networking and the interconnected world. This doctoral dissertation examines the affordances of telecollaboration as integrated component in standard teacher education programmes. Primary objectives are to qualitatively explore participation in the blended learning environment and examine the ways in which practicing teachers engaged with the people and resources therein and gradually mastered professional teacher competences. To this end, a mixed-method approach to data collection and analysis was used. The analysis scrutinizes a variety of ethnographically-collected data to map out the subjective experience of three student-teachers as they engaged with technology-integrated pedagogy. Most salient learning outcomes were quantitatively substantiated and isolated through a screening process and were then analyzed developmentally, using a bricolage of sociocultural and dialogic theoretical lenses. The aim of this latter analytical strategy was to trace knowledge in the making and the cognitive links that were formed between university and virtual participatory settings across time. The findings empirically demonstrate teacher learning leading development in terms of epistemological, pedagogical and reflective skills in line with formal educational standards. The research concludes with a critical reflection of the relationship between learning as guided process of participation and outcome and discerns pedagogical affordances of this learning model as a powerful mode for quality teacher preparation.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Instructional Systems Technology, 2006.<br>"Title from dissertation home page (viewed June 26, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-06, Section: A, page: 2128. Adviser: Thomas A. Brush.

The research presented in this study investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on teacher self-efficacy with delivering design-based learning to elementary students and identifies what resources and support teachers need to administer online or blended learning delivery of design-based learning with elementary students in the current environment. The population was elementary teachers teaching STEM content and this study included a sample of four elementary STEM teachers teaching in rural and suburban communities. Each participating teacher completed the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes Toward STEM Survey (T-STEM) (Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, 2012) to reveal their overall self-efficacy with delivering STEM content, followed by participating in a semi-structured interview consisting of queries targeting both research questions. This qualitative analysis revealed a temporary decrease in teachers' self-efficacy at the beginning of the shift to a virtual environment. A lack of student access to resources at home, the teachers' lack of control and support for the student in a synchronous manner, and a change in STEM education as a priority were revealed as contributors to this temporary decrease in the teachers' self-efficacy. To remediate this, teachers reported condensing activities and the Engineering Design Process to accommodate the virtual environment for a traditionally hands-on instructional strategy. Teachers cited fellow educator support, previous coursework, additional time, and access to teacher resources as resources and support that would be beneficial in the current environment.<br>Doctor of Philosophy<br>The research presented in this study investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on teacher self-efficacy, or confidence, in using an instructional approach to STEM education with elementary students and identifies what resources and support teachers need to use this instructional strategy online or in blended learning settings, a combination of both online and in-person education. The instructional strategy, design-based learning, allows students to use design-thinking to apply the knowledge they are learning to a construct (Doppelt et al., 2008). This study included a sample of four elementary STEM teachers teaching in rural and suburban communities. Each participating teacher completed the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes Toward STEM Survey (T-STEM) (Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, 2012) to reveal their overall self-efficacy with delivering STEM content, followed by participating in an interview. Prominent topics, or themes, revealed from the interviews revealed a temporary decrease in the teachers' self-efficacy at the beginning of the shift to a virtual environment at the beginning of the global pandemic. A lack of student access to resources at home, the teachers' lack of control and support for the student in a real-time manner, and a change in STEM education as a priority were revealed as contributors to this temporary decrease in the teachers' self-efficacy. To address this, the teachers reported condensing activities and the Engineering Design Process to accommodate the virtual environment for a traditionally hands-on instructional strategy. Teachers cited fellow educator support, previous coursework, additional time, and access to teacher resources as resources and support that would be beneficial in the current education system.