June 2003 — Features
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Preparing Technology-Competent Teachers
The UOP brings into focus seven elements of instruction used to align curriculum with developmentally appropriate standards across grade levels and content: invitation, situations, tasks, interactions, standards, tools and assessment. These elements are integral parts of the three phases of teaching: planning, instruction and evaluation.
The PT3 Practicum Plus Program added an additional abstract/overview element, which is designed to help other teachers relate the unit to their own classrooms. It also gives them a frame of reference as they look at the UOP outline at the ACOT Web site (http://azli.asu.edu).
Subjects. A total of 70 mentor teachers and 50 preservice teachers participated in the seven cohort groups. There were five cohort groups: Elementary Education (EED), Bilingual Education (BLE), ESL Education and Early Childhood Education (ECD). The ECD cohort training was abbreviated, and these participants received a one-hour credit and did not develop a UOP.
The cohort workshops were held in schools where a partnership existed with the ASUW College of Education for on-site classroom training for preservice teachers. ASUW is a commuter upper-division campus with many nontraditional students. For instance, the average age of the undergraduate student population is 29, many students are first-generation college students and 21.6% are of minority heritage. Preservice participants in the PT3 Practicum Plus Program paralleled the profile of ASUW students. In addition, 12 ASUW education faculty members assigned to the site-based teacher preparation locations helped lead the Practicum Plus Program workshops.
Data Collection
Multiple measures were used to collect data for each of the research questions. The instruments employed and the procedures used to gather data are presented in the following sections.
Technology checklist. Preservice teachers' and mentor teachers' mastery of technology skills was captured by PT3 instructors and university faculty using a Technology Skills Inventory assessing eight areas. Workshop leaders examined participants' products and checked off mastered items as noted.
Completion of a UOP. Each participant was expected to complete a UOP. PT3 instructors collected the first draft of each UOP at the end of the six-day summer workshops. The percentage of UOP completions was obtained by comparing participant lists with submitted UOPs. A rubric was developed to determine participants' applications of each element in the final draft submitted at the end of the fall semester. The rubric consisted of a three-tiered scale: accomplished, developing and emerging. In addition, each team or individual teacher participant was required to teach at least one of the lessons from their UOP during the fall semester.
Daily participant exit tickets. All participants in the PT3 UOP training were asked to complete an exit ticket that was composed of five prompts for a formative evaluation. The prompts were:
