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Mobile tools are integrated into teacher education settings to provide contextualized, connected, and collaborative teacher learning practices. In this case study, the video-enhanced observation (VEO) app was used in a science methods course to facilitate preservice teachers' reciprocal peer-teaching of inquiry-based lesson study. This research examined preservice teachers' perceptions on the challenges and affordances of using video enhanced mobile observation with peer-teaching feedback. Results from the technology acceptance model (TAM) revealed moderate levels of perceived ease of use, usefulness, and intention to use the VEO app. Further analysis of the open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews revealed self-reflection, feedback, and inquiry-based teaching support as emerging themes for the app integration. This research offers recommendations for implementing video enhanced mobile observation as a promising formative and performative-based assessment strategy within peer-feedback contexts in teacher education programs.

The main purpose of this study was to examine a case in the context of a Faculty Technology Mentoring (FTM) program that provided customised technology integration support to faculty members in different disciplines. The FTM was implemented as a university-wide professional development model to enhance faculty members' adoption of technology into their teaching practices. Following the embedded-case design method, this study investigated a one-to-one mentoring process within the program using TPACK as a framework for the analysis. The analysis of faculty experience revealed that the mentoring project had a positive influence not only on the teaching strategies of the instructor whilst delivering the content, but on the attitudes towards technology utilisation in general within the higher education context.

The educational potentials of using student response systems (SRSs) as emerging mobile technologies in higher education classrooms are increasing. The need to understand and integrate these technologies into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts has become evident. This mixed-methods study aimed at investigating the effects of an SRS-supported think-pair-share strategy on EFL students' vocabulary achievement at a higher education institution. The participants were 154 university students and seven instructors. Data sources included vocabulary achievement tests, an SRS perception survey, and student and instructor focus groups. T-test analysis of the vocabulary achievement tests revealed the strategy resulted in higher vocabulary achievement. The analysis of the focus group data revealed the pedagogical approach resulted in positive outcomes such as increased student engagement, enhanced concentration on in-class activities, and enhanced feedback in classrooms. Results present recommendations for future research on SRS-supported vocabulary achievement and vocabulary retention in English Language Teaching contexts.

Background: Teachers play a prominent role in facilitating the integration of engineering into school instruction. There is an extensive body of literature that has addressed the delivery of engineering teacher professional development programs. A few studies have summarized the features of engineering teacher professional development programs, but none have followed systematic synthesis procedures. Purpose: The study aimed to synthesize the literature on teacher professional development programs focused on the integration of engineering into K-12 education. The purpose of the study was to provide a systematic overview of the general characteristics and key features of PD programs. Design and Method: The systematic review involved three phases, search, selection, and synthesis, and included the application of exclusion criteria, inclusion criteria, and a checklist created by the investigators. Based on an extensive database and journal search, as well as the three review phases mentioned above, 29 articles previously published in peer-reviewed academic journals were included in this systematic review. Results: Results were organized according to six codes: (a) teacher profiles, (b) organizational features, (c) impacts of the professional development programs, (d) factors that promote professional development program effectiveness, (e) assessment of teacher improvement, and (f) addressed limitations. The majority of programs included face-to face workshops combined with field trips to engineering workplaces and follow-ups. Factors that contributed to the effectiveness of the programs included: real-world-focused activities, the promotion of collaboration and interaction with peers and outside experts, development and refinement of plans for classroom implementation, and observation of student interest and progress. Conclusions: This systematic review can provide a conceptual basis for research and practice in engineering-focused teacher professional development, with the assistance of research-based guidelines presented. Future research can investigate the possible long-term effects of the guidelines provided for teachers and their students.

This qualitative case study aimed to examine faculty members' perceived behaviour regarding the use of technology in their classrooms. The behavior was examined within the framework of the decomposed theory of planned behavior. The theory states that technology integration behaviour is directly related to intention and perceived behaviour control and indirectly related to attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. Data sources included semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 faculty members who participated in a faculty technology mentoring programme implemented at a large public university in Turkey over a semester of 4 months' duration. The data analysis revealed that the factors affecting faculty members' planned technology integration behaviour were related to their intentions, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control, as explained in the theory. Faculty members identified a number of student-related, faculty-related and context-related challenges in technology integration. The recommendations arising from the study are to support and sustain faculty members' technology integration in higher education classrooms.

Recent reports call for reformed education policies in Turkey in accordance with the need to develop students' knowledge and skills about STEM education and improving STEM workforce in the country. This research implemented an integrated out-of-school STEM education program for 6th grade students who come from disadvantaged areas in a large urban city in Turkey. The study investigated students' perceptions about the STEM activities implemented in the program. Forty 6th grade students (15 female) studying in public schools participated in the study. The data source used in this study was the activity evaluation forms completed by the students at the end of each activity. The evaluation forms were qualitatively analyzed to identify students' perceptions on the content and skills gained, the challenges and limitations faced and suggestions for improvement. The results present recommendations on the implementation of integrated out-of-school STEM education programs.

The purpose of the study was to analyze the development of middle school science teachers' understanding of engineering design process. The study conceptualized engineering design process that serves as an important context for integrating engineering into K-12 science instruction and described patterns teachers might use to move towards a more sophisticated understanding. Qualitative case study method was employed to systematically investigate differences in science teachers' understanding of engineering design process. The procedures of the study included development of an initial version of an engineering design process progression, delivery of a teacher professional development program, and development of the final version of the progression following revisions. The teacher professional development program was implemented with 30 middle school science teachers and was used to collect data for refinement of the initial version of the progression. Data sources included informative literature, teacher logs, and clinical interviews. Results indicated that a higher level of understanding pointed to a recognition of the contribution of engineering design to the society and the iterative nature of engineering design process. This level of understanding was also shown to contain possible confusions of the design steps; redesign and communication. Implications of the study contribute to future research and thinking about middle school science teachers' understanding of the engineering design process from novice to sophisticated level.

The main aim of this two-step mixed-method study was to explore the effectiveness of the strategies used to prepare pre-service teachers for technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Specifically, we focused on the strategies included in the synthesis of qualitative evidence (SQD) model: (1) using teacher educators as role models, (2) reflecting on the role of technology in education, (3) learning how to use technology by design, (4) collaboration with peers, (5) scaffolding authentic technology experiences, and (6) providing continuous feedback. To explore the relation between the perceived occurrences of the SQD-strategies and TPACK (controlled for pre-service teachers' general attitudes towards technology), survey data were collected from a sample of 688 final-year pre-service teachers in Belgium. In a next step, 16 telephone interviews and 6 in-depth interviews were conducted to gain a more in-depth insight into the nature of the 6 strategies and their influences on TPACK. The quantitative analyses indicated positive correlations between the SQD-strategies and TPACK, controlled for general attitudes towards technology. The findings from the qualitative analyses showed that teachers acknowledged the importance of the six strategies. However, the respondents emphasized that some of the six strategies are often underutilized. Based on the quantitative and qualitative results, the discussion provides recommendations to improve the potential of pre-service training to enhance future teachers' TPACK.

The main purpose of this study was to design and implement a professional development programme on technology integration for teachers in a public education centre based on the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework and learning by design approach, and to evaluate the programme's impact. Ten adult education teachers in a public education centre participated in this case study research. Data sources include teacher-reflective reports, lesson plans and focus group interviews. The results revealed that the programme both enhanced teachers' TPACK and influenced their teaching practices. The results emphasise the importance of providing information that aligns with teachers' specific needs in adult education centres, giving teachers an active role, making opportunities available to design technology-enhanced learning artefacts while working in collaborative teams and selecting ICT tools based on typical adult learning characteristics. The study also offers suggestions for future research and practice on the design of professional development programmes.

Teacher education programs all around the world are challenged with the emergency transition to remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Human-centered design can help generate creative solutions to the pedagogical problems that teacher educators face during this transition. In this paper, we present a case of the Advanced Learning Technologies course offered to preservice teachers in the Learning Technologies minor program at a Midwestern University. Our human-centered design approach followed three premises: (a) Building empathy, (b) engaging in pedagogical problem solving and (c) establishing an online community of inquiry. We present our process and the results with a design frame that can be used in other teacher education contexts.

Open pedagogy has emerged as an important teaching and learning practice while the current global open education resources movement has developed. The present research addresses the need to develop and conceptualize open pedagogy models in higher education contexts. This case study examined student perspectives on the affordances, challenges, and impact of an open pedagogy approach implemented within the context of three higher education courses. Various renewable assignments were integrated into face-to-face, blended, and online courses. Data sources consisted of reflection reports and semi-structured interviews conducted with 13 student participants. The qualitative analysis revealed six themes that conceptualized student engagement with open pedagogy: content curation, peer feedback, community engagement, development, reflection, and scaffolding. We discuss the impact of these practices on the participating students' knowledge and awareness of open access and student agency. The results present an open pedagogy in action model with recommendations for future research and practice.

This study aims at investigating the profiles of teacher educators in order to explore their ability to prepare preservice teachers for technology integration in education. Specifically, the current study examines whether teacher educators can be grouped on the basis of their attitudes toward ICT (in education), their ICT self-efficacy to design ICT-rich learning environments, their competencies to use ICT in their teaching practice and the strategies they use to prepare preservice teachers for technology integration. These strategies are included in the SQD (Synthesis of Qualitative Data) model and comprise: (1) teacher educators as role models, (2) reflecting on the role of technology in education, (3) learning how to use technology by design, (4) collaboration with peers, (5) scaffolding authentic technology experiences and (6) providing continuous feedback. Data were collected from a sample of 284 teacher educators in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, and submitted to latent profile analysis. The added value of the current study lies in the account of how SQD strategies and a typical set of determinants of ICT integration can be associated within teacher educators' profile. Based on the profiles emerging from this study, teacher training institutions should consider their teacher educators to be gatekeepers when preparing future generations of teachers for the learning environments of the twenty-first century. In the discussion section, the implications for practice and future research are discussed.

There is an increasing awareness of out-of-school program value in enhancing student interest and understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study examined the impact of an out-of-school STEM education program on student attitudes toward STEM disciplines and STEM careers. A STEM education program implemented at a public research university was designed to integrate STEM disciplines with hands-on problem-based activities. Design features included authentic learning contexts, engineering design processes, and content integration. Data sources included an attitude survey and interviews conducted with forty sixth grade middle school student participants. The analysis revealed significant differences between pre and posttests on student attitudes toward personal and social implications of STEM, science and engineering learning, and their relationship to STEM. Findings showed that the program contributed to students' developing interest in STEM fields, and helped them make connections between schoolwork and daily lives. Recommendations for future research on out-of-school STEM education programs were discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice teachers' perceptions of the support their teacher education programs provide for developing their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The research was conducted with 215 preservice teachers in the last year of teacher education programs and teaching certificate programs in three universities in Turkey. Data sources were the synthesis of qualitative evidence (SQD) scale that was validated in the Turkish context as part of this study and the TPACK-practical scale. The strategies investigated in the SQD-model included: using teacher educators as role models; reflecting on the role of technology in education; learning how to use technology by design; collaboration with peers; scaffolding authentic technology experiences; and providing continuous feedback. The linear regression analysis revealed a positive relation between teacher education strategies and preservice teachers' TPACK. Reflection and teacher educators' as role models were the most frequently used teacher education strategies in teacher education programs included in this study. Results provided recommendations for further research on the connection between the teacher education strategies and the development of preservice teachers' TPACK in teacher education programs.

The purpose of the study was to observe the indicators of science teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) using a video-based research method. The study was conducted with four in-service science teachers who taught at a school that offered tablet-based education in primary and secondary levels. Data sources included video-recorded classroom teaching sessions and pre- and post-video teacher interviews. In addition to the in-depth contextual information provided, the findings from the qualitative analysis of teacher cases revealed indicators of teachers' TPACK in their lesson design and actual teaching processes. Design indicators included technology selection, curriculum planning, lesson preparation, and assessment. Actual teaching indicators included lesson entry behaviors, teaching methods and strategies, technology-enhanced classroom management, troubleshooting, and assessment.

TPACK (technological pedagogical content knowledge) has emerged as a clear and useful construct for researchers working to understand technology integration in learning and teaching. Whereas first generation TPACK work focused upon explaining and interpreting the construct, TPACK has now entered a second generation where the focus is upon using the construct in both research and development projects. In this paper, the TPACK construct is defined and several current research and development projects that use the TPACK framework are described. The strength of the TPACK framework in research and evaluation work in technology integration is discussed, along with future directions for this work. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Based in Shulman's idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has emerged as a useful frame for describing and understanding the goals for technology use in preservice teacher education. This paper addresses the need for a survey instrument designed to assess TPACK for preservice teachers. The paper describes survey development process and results from a pilot study on 124 preservice teachers. Data analysis procedures included Cronbach's alpha statistics on the TPACK knowledge domains and factor analysis for each domain. Results suggest that, with the modification and/or deletion of 18 of the survey items, the survey is a reliable and valid instrument that will help educators design longitudinal studies to assess preservice teachers' development of TPACK. (Contains 9 tables and 1 figure.)

Mobile technologies offer new affordances for teacher observation in teacher education programs, albeit under-examined in contrast to video technologies. The purpose of this article is to investigate the integration of mobile technologies into teacher observation. Using a case study method, the authors compare the traditional narrative paper-pen, mobile app-supported, and video observation methods. Participants included 2 experienced teachers of English as a Foreign Language who were selected as the observers and observees in a higher education institutional context. The data was collected in three different teaching sessions over 4 weeks. Data sources included lesson observation notes and semi structured interviews conducted with teachers after each session. Results suggest recommendations for the integration of mobile and video based observation tools into teacher professional development programs, pre-service and in-service teacher education programs, as well as teacher certificate programs.

Recent interest in integrating mobile apps into teaching will continue growing. There remains, however, a pressing need to develop methods and resources to support and educate preservice teachers about the use of these technologies. This case study aimed to examine preservice teachers' criteria for evaluating educational mobile apps. Nineteen fourth-year preservice teachers, who studied math, science, English, and computer education at a public university, participated in the research. During the usability tests, the preservice teachers were asked to evaluate the affordances and limitations of selected educational mobile apps from their particular subject domains. Their interactions with and evaluations of the mobile apps were collected through think-aloud sessions and interviews. Qualitative analysis revealed preservice teachers' evaluation criteria in five categories such as pedagogy, technical usability, content, connectivity, and contextuality. The results point to recommendations for future research on evaluating the capabilities of existing mobile apps with key players such as in-service and preservice teachers.

This study aims to identify profiles of pre-service teachers in order to explore their readiness to integrate technology in education. The assumption is that pre-service teacher characteristics such as technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), go together with the influence of their teacher training. Specifically, this study examines whether pre-service teachers can be clustered on the basis of their TPACK, a typical set of ICT-related characteristics (e.g., general ICT attitudes, attitudes towards ICT in education, ease of use, ICT self-efficacy), and the perceived support at their training institution to adequately integrate ICT in education. Data were collected from a sample of 688 last-year pre-service teachers in 18 teacher training institutions in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium). Using correlational and latent profile analysis, the results suggest that: (1) two profiles can be distinguished, (2) TPACK and other individual ICT-related characteristics are positively correlated, and (3) pre-service teachers in a profile with strong TPACK, attitudes, and self-efficacy scores also report high scores on the support they perceive at their teacher training institution. Implications for the role of teacher training institutions are discussed with a specific focus on how to close the gap between the two identified profiles.

A growing and increasingly important area of research in higher education is the investigation of how different forms of support and training programs facilitate faculty adoption of technology into pedagogical practices. This study explored the implementation of a faculty technology mentoring (FTM) program as a university-wide professional development model, focusing on the success factors and critical strategies that encourage technology adoption in faculty teaching practices. The goal of this effort is to provide evidence-based discussion on an FTM model tailored to faculty members' needs in a university context. Participants included 12 faculty members (mentees) and 12 graduate students (mentors), paired throughout the FTM program. Analysis of mentors' weekly blog posts, case reports, and interviews with faculty members revealed six critical strategies: determining needs; exploring technologies' affordances and limitations; scaffolding; sharing feedback; connecting technology, pedagogy, and content; and evaluating. Success factors included motivation, meeting challenges, the nature of mentoring relationships, communication channels, and support. The results point to key recommendations for higher education institutions that plan to implement similar mentoring programs in order to support technology integration into faculty members' teaching practices.

Design-based learning (DBL) has been considered a useful approach in teacher education because of its emphasis on the investigation of technology integration problems in design processes. Despite recent interest in understanding how technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) translates to action, limited research exists on how TPACK is developed within DBL contexts and what principles of DBL can be applied to TPACK development. To address these critical gaps in the literature, an approach was developed that outlined eight DBL principles that foster understanding of TPACK-in-action in teacher education contexts. Next, a graduate course was designed to determine how course activities facilitated understanding of TPACK-in-action and to what extent students enacted TPACK-DBL principles. Following a case study methodology, data were collected from 10 graduate students through reflection reports, design guides, and researcher observation notes. The analysis of qualitative and descriptive data revealed that as a result of TPACK-DBL activities, students developed a four-dimensional understanding of TPACK-in-action: theory-practice connection, readiness for practice, technological proficiency, and sustainable learning of TPACK. The results offer recommendations to teacher educators for developing understanding of TPACK-in-action through DBL activities.

Higher education environments need further evidence of the impact of faculty technology mentoring (FTM) models on graduate students to promote and sustain these programs as well as develop policies related to their support. To address this need, the current study investigated the impact of a university-wide FTM program on participating graduate students' professional development. As part of the program, 12 graduate students mentored 12 faculty members on the application of educational technologies in their classrooms. Graduate students completed a survey at the end of the mentoring program to measure its benefits. The results reveal both how graduate students are rewarded by participating in such activities and valuable mentoring methods to develop graduate students' technical, academic, pedagogical, and professional skills.

The quality of online programs in higher education is strongly correlated with how the professional development approaches respond to the needs of online teachers. These approaches are critical in helping online teachers adopt online pedagogical practices and reconstruct their teacher persona in an online environment. This study proposes a nested professional development framework for online teaching. The proposed framework intends to recognize successful online teaching in higher education as an outcome of the interaction of support activities at teaching, community, and organization levels.

Mobile devices have become attractive learning devices for education. While the majority of the existing research has focused primarily on the value of mobile learning for students, researchers have recently started exploring its potentials within teacher development. The present qualitative synthesis of quantitative and qualitative research aimed to address trends and gaps observed in the literature regarding the integration of mobile learning into teacher education. Six main findings emerged: (a) there is an increasing trend in integrating mobile learning in teacher education contexts; (b) theoretical and conceptual perspectives are scarcely reported; (c) variations exist in perceptions, attitudes and usage patterns; (d) engagement with mobile learning and devices is primarily reported as being beneficial; (e) challenges were scarcely reported; and (f) several pedagogical affordances support mobile learning integration into teacher education settings. These findings have been interpreted to determine their implications on the development of mobile learning experiences in teacher education, including programmatic directions for integration and study.

Background: Although advances in distance learning have shown signs of a reconfiguration of the teacher's role in online environments, a large number of online teaching practices still do not show many signs of this shift. Given the need for a change in pedagogies, investigating how exemplary teachers transfer their thinking, pedagogical knowledge, and beliefs to successful online teaching is critical to understanding new online learning and teaching practices. The research on online teacher roles and practices, however, has been limited in terms of bringing teachers' voices into the research process and empowering them as autonomous professionals who constantly engage in a dialogue about solving complex problems and making decisions about online teaching. Purpose and Research Questions: The purpose of this research was to look at exemplary online teachers' transition to online teaching with a focus on their successful practices. The research investigated two central questions: (1) What are the successful practices that exemplary online teachers employ in their online teaching? (2) How do exemplary online teachers make a transition to online teaching in such a way that they create successful practices? Research Design: The study followed a qualitative multiple-case study approach examining six different cases of exemplary online teachers and their teaching contexts within a large research university in the Midwestern United States. Using multiple cases allowed for comparison of similar and contrasting online teaching situations and conditions within the university's different colleges. Participants, Data Collection, and Analysis: The data sources of the study consisted of (1) semistructured interviews conducted with six online program coordinators to collect contextual information and gather nominations for successful online teachers in each college, and (2) ethnographic interviews conducted with 6 online teachers nominated as exemplary to gather teacher-expressed needs, knowledge, and successful practices. Within- and cross-case analyses were conducted to generate codes and identify the similarities and differences across the cases as well as common themes. Conclusions/Recommendations: The findings of this study indicated that when teachers described their successful practices, they often linked them to their changing roles and new representation of their "selves" within an online environment. Their portrayal of the teacher self, both built on a plethora of previous experiences and reformed with the affordances and limitations of the online environment, went through a process whereby teachers were constantly challenged to make themselves heard, known, and felt by their students. This study showed that it was critical to listen to teachers' voices and give them a participatory role in the creation and use of their knowledge and experience in order to form their online teacher personas. As a result, programs that prepare faculty to teach online may need to encourage teachers to reflect on their past experiences, assumptions, and beliefs toward learning and teaching and transform their perspectives by engaging in pedagogical inquiry and problem solving.