Vol 10 no 3 march 2015 by ijlter.org

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p-ISSN: 1694-2493 e-ISSN: 1694-2116

International Journal of Learning, Teaching And Educational Research

Vol.10 No.3

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research is an open-access journal which has been established for the disChief Editor Dr. Antonio Silva Sprock, Universidad Central de semination of state-of-the-art knowledge in the Venezuela, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of field of education, learning and teaching. IJLTER welcomes research articles from academics, edEditorial Board ucators, teachers, trainers and other practitionProf. Cecilia Junio Sabio ers on all aspects of education to publish high Prof. Judith Serah K. Achoka quality peer-reviewed papers. Papers for publiProf. Mojeed Kolawole Akinsola Dr Jonathan Glazzard cation in the International Journal of Learning, Dr Marius Costel Esi Teaching and Educational Research are selected Dr Katarzyna Peoples through precise peer-review to ensure quality, Dr Christopher David Thompson originality, appropriateness, significance and Dr Arif Sikander readability. Authors are solicited to contribute Dr Jelena Zascerinska to this journal by submitting articles that illusDr Gabor Kiss trate research results, projects, original surveys Dr Trish Julie Rooney Dr Esteban Vázquez-Cano and case studies that describe significant adDr Barry Chametzky vances in the fields of education, training, eDr Giorgio Poletti learning, etc. Authors are invited to submit paDr Chi Man Tsui pers to this journal through the ONLINE submisDr Alexander Franco sion system. Submissions must be original and Dr Habil Beata Stachowiak should not have been published previously or Dr Afsaneh Sharif be under consideration for publication while Dr Ronel Callaghan Dr Haim Shaked being evaluated by IJLTER. Dr Edith Uzoma Umeh Dr Amel Thafer Alshehry Dr Gail Dianna Caruth Dr Menelaos Emmanouel Sarris Dr Anabelie Villa Valdez Dr Özcan Özyurt Assistant Professor Dr Selma Kara Associate Professor Dr Habila Elisha Zuya

VOLUME 10

NUMBER 3

March 2015

Table of Contents The Nature of High School Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x; Experiences at a Great Lakes Biological Field Station ...................................... 1 Marc Behrendt A Needs Assessment Survey on Teacher Readiness of Science Pre-Service Teachers: Towards a Contextualized Student Teaching Enhancement Program (STEP) ............................................................................................................ 17 Darryl Roy T. Montebon The Experience of Hidden Curriculum on Selecting a Supervisor from the Perspective of Students ...................... 27 Fatemeh Robati and Forouzan Tonkaboni and Mohammad Mohammad Bagheri Lessons Learned from Teaching Teachers how to Teach about World Religions ........................................................ 43 Derek Anderson, Holly Mathys and Joe Lubig Antecedents of Norwegians Student Teachers' Campus Time on Task ........................................................................ 59 Knut-Andreas Christophersen, Eyvind Elstad, Trond Solhaug and Are Turmo SPortraits of One-To-One Learning Environments in a New Learning Ecology ......................................................... 78 John K. Lee, Hiller Spires, Eric Wiebe, Karen Hollebrands and Carl Young The Impacts on the Educational Landscape ahead the Free Internet Offers, Traps and Surveillance that Threatens the Safety and Privacy on the Web .................................................................................................................................. 102 Rogerio L. Roth Using Social Network Analysis for Analysing Online Threaded Discussions .......................................................... 128 Roberto C. RodrĂguez-Hidalgo,, Chang Zhu, Frederik Questier and Aida M. Torres-Alfonso

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 1-16, March 2015.

The Nature of High School Students‟ Experiences at a Great Lakes Biological Field Station Marc Behrendt

Ohio University Athens, Ohio, USA Abstract. The purpose of this case study is to explore how high school students experienced a four-day field trip at Stone Laboratory Biological Field Station, from a visiting student‟s perspective, in order to understand the value of that field station and its impact on science, science education, and students‟ lives. Chosen from a population of fifty students, six rural high school student participants attended a four-day field trip, involving of two days and three nights at Stone Laboratory and excursions to two neighboring islands. Participants were given cameras to record their experiences during the field trips to record anything they found significant or meaningful. After the trip, students were asked to select the five most significant images and write a paragraph, describing the significance of each image. Each participant was interviewed three times in semi-structured and unstructured formats. Analysis consisted of open coding using apriori and emergent codes. Significant findings included: 1) Stone Lab provided a unique and novel venue where the equipped laboratories, the managed shorelines, and the natural areas provided the ingredients for awe and wonder; 2) the field station‟s unique setting inspired curiosity and motivation among students; 3) in reference to science education, the payoff for these experiences was increased interest in science; 4) three of the six participants redefined their career goals after their four day immersive Stone Lab field experience; 5) students developed a sense of appreciation for the Lake Erie environment. Keywords: Stone Laboratory; Biological Field Station; Informal Learning; Experiential Learning; Photovoice

Introduction Biological field stations create a uniquely positive learning environment for students, where each student is able to explore, discover, and reflect over the things that they personally find interesting (Malinowski and Fortner 2011; NRC 2009; NRC 2014; Organization of Biological Field Stations 2014; Woodhouse and Knapp 2000). Students in preschool through graduate school find biological field stations interesting and motivating. The field station experience can be life changing. Many biologists and environmental scientists proclaimed a field station experience strongly influenced their decision to pursue biology as a career (Arvey and Riemer 1966; NRC 2014).

For the purposes of this article, the definition of a biological field station (henceforth to be called a field station) will be a facility located in an isolated, natural area. The field station may be focused on research, education, community outreach, or conservation, with a focus on that region‟s habitats, ecosystems, flora and fauna, and environmental issues (Arvey and Riemer 1966; NRC 2014; Organization of Biological Field Stations 2014). A field station is typically a college or university satellite facility. In the early 1900‟s, most field stations focused on nature study. Arvey and Riemer (1966) recognized that research was a primary mission for roughly half of existing field stations, the other half focused partially or entirely on student education and field experiences. Field stations were often the entry point where scientists performed and honed their research. Arvey and Riemer (1966) recognized that little information was published about field stations, although field stations provided a significant service connecting students to authentic science experience. A literature search yielded research illustrating that field stations are recognized as a venue of research, but the pedagogy and methodology is barely explored. In 2014, National Research Council (NRC) published an extensive document that examined “the value and sustainability of field stations and marine laboratories in the 21st century” (NRC 2014). “The committee encountered a significant challenge to empirically demonstrating the value of field stations due to the lack of aggregated data on their activities and impacts on science and society” (NRC 2014 p. 8). The lack of research concerning field stations extends to outcome and impact of field station pedagogy (NRC 2014).

Science Education and Learning Environmental education is affectively learned through personal, hands-on experience in the field (American Institutes for Research 2005; Organization of Biological Field Stations 2014). Experiential learning may encompass direct encounters with a specific topic being explored, such as through vocational training, or more commonly and in this study‟s prevue, learning gained through every day lived experiences (Smith 2001). Kolb (1983) described the four stages that must occur for experiential learning to occur: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation, and the cycle continues through concrete experience and beyond. Because a major goal of any field trip is to create student learning, a brief look at learning will connect the functions of field stations to the students‟ experiences. Kolb and Kolb (2005) identified six key factors concerning learning: 1. Learning is a process, not an endpoint. It requires feedback, reconstruction and reflection of the experience; 2. All learning is relearning, which is maximized when student beliefs and ideas are included to develop assimilated, new refined ideas; 3. Learning requires understanding an experience through opposing methods of experiencing, feeling versus thinking, or doing versus watching; 4. Learning consists of feeling, thinking, doing and watching; 5. Learning occurs from an experience between the person and environment; 6. Learning creates knowledge (Behrendt 2014, p. 38).

Learning can be formal or informal. Formal learning is obligatory, planned, assessed, and teacher-centered, has a predetermined curriculum, and allows minimal social interaction (Saylan and Blumstein 2011; Wellington 1990). “Formal education is the interaction between a teacher and a student within a systematic framework of standards, tests, and a fixed curriculum” (Zandstra 2012, p. 25). In contrast, informal learning is not confined to a classroom, but is voluntary, loosely organized, not assessed, student or learner-centered, has an open-ended curriculum, and allows social interaction (Falk and Dierking 2000; Hofstein and Rosenfeld 1996; Rennie 2007; Wellington 1990). The learning is controlled by the learner. Informal learning experiences can be broken down into three significant components or contexts, the physical, social or personal, and cognitive (Falk and Dierking 2000; NRC 2009). Informal learning is individualized to each person‟s reality, to their motivations, past knowledge, interests, beliefs, and expectations. Friends, and any associated social group, teachers, guides, and bystanders influence the learning. The physical context is determined through the venue or setting. There may be a program or organized activity, but the informal learning determines what the student will learn, which very well may be a topic not intended by the program organizers (Falk and Dierking 2000). Education programs at field stations are by definition, informal learning. Therefore, students may participate in the activities, but each experience will be unique, defined by each individual student. Learning has also been defined through the use of an ecological framework, the term “ecological” meaning the relationship between the physical environment with the cultural environment and its associated individuals. Each involved individual possesses unique personal development and differences in his or her background due to finances, education, family traditions and beliefs, and associations with peers (Bronfenbrenner 1977; NRC 2009). The ecological framework recognizes three different lenses in which to analyze informal science learning: the cognitive/affective or people-centered lens, the place centered lens, and the culture centered lens (NRC 2009). The cognitive/affective or people-centered lens focuses on the development of interest, knowledge, affective responses, and personal identity, including prior knowledge and experiences Behrendt 2014; NRC 2009. NRC (2009) proposed the term people-centered lens because it focused on an individual‟s affective and cognitive response to an experience. The term cognitive/affective lens will be used to clarify the intent of the lens. The place centered lens focuses upon the physical aspects of the informal science experience, including the setting, resources, tools, and equipment being utilized. The place-centered lens will vary depending on the venue. Individuals will respond differently depending on the physical setting and the equipment available (NRC 2009). The culture centered lens focuses on the relationships the individual has with the community of friends, teachers, and other individuals directly or indirectly involved in the experience. The community may provide values, skills, knowledge and personal identity to the individual, and the individual may provide values, skills, © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

knowledge and personal identity to the community. An individual will act, perform, experience, and learn differently depending on the composition of the community (NRC 2009). These lenses were significant and were utilized during transcript analysis to determine apriori codes.

Stone Laboratory Biological Field Station An informal learning venue is any non-school location where learning might take place, including museums, science centers, zoos, and field stations (Falk and Dierking 2000). A venue is defined by its purpose. Visitors at a zoo will observe animal exhibits in a manipulated setting, visitors at a science center will experience interactive stations in a manipulated setting, and visitors at a field station will encounter both formal learning through classroom lectures and informal learning through hands-on, personal experiences while immersed in a natural setting (Falk and Dierking 2000). Biological field stations may be associated with general habitat types, including freshwater, saltwater, terrestrial, and wetland (Arvey and Reimer 1966). Field stations are also differentiated as research-based, instructional, or both. Marine biological field stations tend to be larger and more instructional because aquatic habitats are not as overwhelmed by constant student usage. Inland biological field stations are often research-based, fearing that an influx of humans would alter the terrestrial environments. For this study, a field station with a goal of student instruction was desired. The Ohio State University‟s Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory (henceforth to be called Stone Lab) was the primary option for this study due to convenience as well as having met the needs of this study. Stone Lab is a freshwater marine biological field station located on Gibraltar Island, a six-acre island located in western Lake Erie, owned by The Ohio State University and managed by the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. To support and implement its mission of promoting research, education, and community outreach, Stone Lab is equipped with three large research boats and several motor boats (Ohio State‟s Stone Laboratory 2013). The classroom building has two large laboratory workrooms on the first floor and smaller workrooms on the second and third floors, equipped with instrumentation and tools ranging from high quality microscopes, digital equipment, binoculars, nets, and boots. Of particular concern to this study is Stone Lab‟s commitment to provide quality, hands-on educational opportunities for middle and high school students. Up-to-date equipment utilized by researchers and the summer college courses becomes available to the fall and spring workshop programs. The equipment and opportunities a Stone Lab workshop program offers to students is not possible in a school classroom. The spring and fall workshop curriculum has been crafted and shaped over decades of workshop programs. Instructors, typically recent environmental science or biology graduates or upper level environmental and biology major college students gaining work experience, give a short classroom presentation, and then take the

students outside to explore and discover what was just taught. Workshops are usually one or two days in length, although some schools opt to extend the stay. The visiting school‟s teacher preselects the workshops that the students will experience, and occasionally, the teachers will do much of the initial classroom teaching, leaving the Stone Lab instructors to lead the field and laboratory experiences. There may be up to five different workshop classes going on at one time. Attending students separate into cohort groups, and then rotate between different workshops. Each workshop class lasts a maximum of two hours in length, but usually ends 15 minutes early to allow students some personal time between workshop classes. In this study, the student group thatconsisted of 50 high school students, divided into four cohort groups that participated in the immersive courses: ornithology, aquatic invertebrate biology, island botany, plankton biology, fish biology, and activities on “BioLab”, one of the large research vessels. The study originally intended to examine biological field stations in general. However, it was realized that each field station was unique and presented unique experiences for visiting students. It was decided to focus this study specifically on Stone Lab, rather than the more generic biological field station.

Materials and Methods This reported case study is a small segment of a larger case study that investigated how high school students experienced an extended and immersive field experience. This study specifically explored how high school students experienced a field station during a field trip. A case study design was utilized, a format suitable to explore real-world situations, cultures, and programs, to investigate and understand what goes on there and how participants perceive things (Creswell 2013; Stake 1995; Yin 2009). The case study was bounded by participants (the student participants attending a single rural high school), setting (Stone Lab‟s specific program; Stone Lab‟s geographical location on an island), and time (a four-day immersive field experience). The case study utilized interviews, photovoice, and observations, leading to analysis searching for patterns of common meaning derived from the student participants‟ experiences during the field program, culminating with a final case description (Creswell 2013) .

Participants Participants in this study consisted of students ranging from ninth through twelfth grade at Rural Ohio High School (ROHS) (pseudonym), which was selected because biennially, a group of students traveled to Stone Lab for a four-day immersive science experience. All students in the school science club were invited. Although expected to pay for their experience, students could participate in fund raising events to pay for the field trip. For this study, the two cooperating teachers made their classrooms and students available for interviews. The participant pool consisted only of students who planned to attend the field trip and provided parental permission forms to participate in the study. Six students were purposefully selected to participate in a case study, stratified by gender and interest in science, resulting in four female and two male students, three self-identified as high interest

and three as low interest in science. All other participants in the pool participated in focus group discussions. Internal Review Board permission was sought and granted by Ohio University.

Credibility and validation were important priorities. The rationale for the decision of type and quantity of participants was defined by the question and by the available sample pool (Patton 2002). Sample size is an issue in which little consensus is found throughout the literature (Onwuegbuzie and Leech 2007; Patton 2002). “If interpretations and theories remain strictly localized, then the size of the sample is not as crucial” (Onwuegbuzie and Leech 2007, p. 115). The context within the current study was very narrow, bounded by location, time, event, and participants. The sample sizes needed be large enough to achieve data saturation in which no new emergent themes are uncovered with further data collection, yet small enough to develop depth. Guest, Bunce, and Johnson (2006) suggested that data saturation occurred with twelve interviews, illustrating that 92% of codes developed from a series of transcripts were created after twelve interviews in one study, and 88% of the codes developed in another study. However, the overarching themes in those same studies were thoroughly established after six interviews, suggesting six interviews may be “sufficient to develop meaningful themes and interpretations” (Guest et al 2006, p. 78). In this study, there were six participants, and each was interviewed three times, for a total of 18 interviews.

Site selection As described earlier, the study explored the students‟ four-day immersive experience. The first two days students participated in experiential classes at Stone Lab on Gibraltar Island. On the third and fourth days, students travelled to Kelley‟s Island and South Bass Island, but ate breakfast and dinner and slept at Stone Lab.

Procedure The goal of this study was to gain insight to how high school students experience a field station during a field trip. Qualitative research methods were utilized, specifically semi-structured interviews, observations, and photovoice with essays and unstructured interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the school prior to and following the Stone Lab field trip. Unstructured interviews were conducted after the field trip, to allow each participant an opportunity to comment on the photographs that they had taken during the field trip as part of the photovoice activity. Photovoice is a method that allows the researcher to see an experience from the viewpoint of the participant (Wang and Burris 1997). An image is powerful when associated with the participant‟s explanation or purpose for the photograph. Photovoice also helps students to relive their experiences, to help them remember their experiences. In this study, each participant received an Olympus VR 310 digital camera with an 8 GB graphics card. They used photovoice to show what they thought was significant as they participated in the four-day field experience.

Participants were asked to take photographs from the moment they left the school until they arrived home again four days later. To gain context and understand the students‟ perspectives of the field station experience, it would assist the reader to understand the general field trip experience at Stone Lab. To set foot onto Stone Lab, a student first must ride a school bus, then a ferry, to South Bass Island, a bus to the opposite side of the island, and then boats to Gibraltar Island. Once students arrive, they cannot leave the island; they are immersed in a science culture for the duration of their stay on the island. On this field trip, students arrived at the island on a sunny, 70°F day. The first evening included an organizational meeting, followed by evening activities, including volleyball and a bonfire. Student free time occurred whenever they were not obligated to classes, meetings, or curfew. During free time, students were able to explore or socialize as they chose, within the rules. The next day began with heavy rain and strong north winds with the temperature around 40°F. Students participated in four 2-hour classes, with an evening program about Stone Lab‟s history and past research. The third day started with periodic downpours and strong winds and temperatures around 45°F. Students completed their fifth workshop class, and then rode a large jet boat to Kelley‟s Island, where they hiked approximately two miles to a wildlife area to explore the glacial grooves, island geology, the Lake Erie shoreline, amphibians and reptiles within the wildlife area, plants, fossils, and unique habitats in the region such as a local alvar. The students had the option to explore on their own, in self-determined groups, or with one of the teachers. The evening meeting at Stone Lab consisted of two scientist guest speakers, and then a cat dissection for interested students. The final day began with warmer temperatures and sunshine. Students traveled to South Bass Island, where they visited Perry‟s Monument commemorating the Battle of Lake Erie. When the program concluded, the students hiked and explored a wildlife museum, a crystal cave, and the South Bass Island State Park shoreline to look for Lake Erie watersnakes. Back at school the Monday after the field trip, each participant was asked to select five images from his or her own camera that best captured what he or she considered were significant or meaningful experiences. Then the participants were asked to write a paragraph or short essay for each image, describing why the photograph was meaningful for them. Once completed, the researcher conducted unstructured interviews, asking each participant to slowly scan through the full collection of their field trip images and explain or discuss the images, why they took the image and what it meant to them. Observation methods were utilized before, during, and after the field trip. The researcher was the sole observer and spectator in the science classroom before and after the trip, where participants were observed during lab activities with the goal to understand the behavior, activity engagement, and interactions with other students, all providing evidence of participant interest. The observations provided an additional benefit by allowing the participants to become familiar with and comfortable around the researcher, which created open communication during the © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

interviews. At Stone Lab, the researcher was a participant observer, observing the participants during the activities. Each participant was asked to fill out a short survey, which solicited their demographic information, and concluded by asking the participants to list their favorite and least favorite subjects, activities, describe their future plans, and finally to identify his or her level of interest in science on a Likert-like bar. The survey was created to understand each student, and was not used in any data analysis. Credibility and validation was an important priority throughout the development and implementation of the larger study, from which this smaller, more focused study was drawn. Method triangulation was employed using interviews, observations, and photovoice. Other methods included independent peer review, member checking, and rich description of the Stone Laboratory program generated from a pilot study and multiple observations. A daily journal was maintained, with a full audit trail to back up the research. Analysis Data focused on the participant‟s experiences during the field trip, and was cross analyzed with the other participants‟ experiences to illustrate themes, and common and unique experiences. The data were broken down with the research questions in mind to direct the analysis. Questions explored in this study included, how did high school students experience the Stone Lab Biological Field Station during a four-day field trip? What aspects of the experiences led to development of interest? The observations and interviews were transcribed, coded using apriori codes derived directly from the ecological framework, and emergent codes derived from the participants‟ words or actions. Codes specific to the physical lens of experience dealt primarily with setting. Codes specific to tools were usually implied. Photovoice images were linked to the accompanying essays, and were coded together. Each essay was treated as an interview transcript since it was the participant‟s personal voice, or photovoice. Since the participants selected these images and essays due to the photographs‟ meaningfulness, all coding of photovoice transcripts was considered significant. Observation requires researcher interpretation and inference of feelings, engagement, and behavior. However, the observational inferences were strengthened when combined with the interview and photovoice data. Field notes were transcribed, and emergent data were recorded for patterns or themes.

Results All themes and patterns from the larger, original study connected to Stone Lab in some way. The purpose of this study was to explore how high school students experienced a field station during a field trip, from a visiting student‟s perspective in order to understand the value of that field station and its impact on science, science education, and students. Because the data are entirely from the students‟ perspectives, supportive evidence to the major themes will consist of the students‟ © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

words. Only representative quotes have been presented to limit the length of this section. The names are pseudonyms, followed by the student‟s level of science interest, H(igh) or L(ow). To further protect the students‟ identities, the dates of the interview comments are not included. It should be noted that all three aspects of the ecological framework are represented through the students‟ statements. The physical aspect is the primary focus of this study, however, also of interest are the portions of the cognitive/affective and cultural frameworks that integrated with the physical.

Focus on Learning The three students with high interest in science enjoyed the learning opportunities at Stone Lab. “I like [that] the focus is all on learning, it is fun learning, and I like the location because I love Lake Erie” (Janessa-H, interview). Janessa-H saw the experience as purposeful learning. “It is all applicable, it really helps, it is real science, not just here, take notes on this, you will never actually use it in life - this is an actual career, this is actually happening every day” (Janessa-H, interview). The three students with low interest in science participated in and enjoyed the experiences, but did not reveal the passion for the program topics. David admitted, “Unless you are an important scientist, you are not going to need to know the birds…” (interview).

Affective Responses The significance of affective responses was evident throughout the interview and photovoice data. Although this study was not designed to examine emotion, the prominence of the affective comments provides insight to how students experienced the field station field trip. Among the six participants, 39 different affective responses were identified. Fun, like, and happy constituted a majority of the responses, but awe and wonder, and boredom required a deeper examination. Awe and wonder included feelings of amazement, admiration, or surprise. All six participants revealed a moment when they saw something and were amazed. Rainbows and sunsets promoted many comments. “I went out on Alligator Bar and saw this beautiful rainbow behind Perry‟s Monument. I was amazed because I hardly ever see them and when I do, they‟re really faint or small. This one is clear and pretty big, which really excited me” (WillaH, photovoice). “And it was at sunset, that is where I got that really cool sunset picture, too. That was amazing” (Willa-H, interview). Willa-H had strong negative feelings about snakes during the pretrip interview, but her feelings changed after finding and holding a snake. “I love snakes. I think they are so cool. And they are cute and cuddly” (Willa-H, photovoice). This statement is significant, illustrating a new understanding while her affective response changed from fear to wonder.

David-L had never seen the Great Lakes before this trip. He expressed his wonder as he watched the storms move across the lake, “We sat there and watched it, and then there was a big storm off in the distance, so we came in and it went from dry and slightly warm to just pouring down rain, that was kind of a, that was a neat thing.” During the post-trip interview, David-L discussed the memory of the moment he looked out over the lake, “And just the vastness. It looks like the sea…the way the water moved, the way you could see the water had been going in the same pattern for like, a hundred years, it dug a circular shape into the rocks…Sometimes it made you feel warm inside, like even though it was cold, it just felt like, something was really neat about it, like it was different, you can‟t really explain it, but it was different.” Lucas-L had little interest in science. His focus was on relationships with peers. He photographed an image at night and wrote, “I love the night because everything is calm and relaxing. I saw how the moonlight just reflected so perfectly and needed a picture” (Lucas-L, photovoice). Not all comments were positive. It is noteworthy that the three participants who made comments about being bored were the three students who were least interested in science. David-L spoke about his feelings after the plankton lab failed to collect specimens to examine, “I did not get anything. After that, I was really bored” (interview). Lucas-L regularly spoke of boredom throughout the interviews. Concerning the wildlife area hike, he stated, “We were just screwing around and it was a lot of fun. I don‟t know, I was kind of bored with it” Concerning the hands-on botany class Lucas-L admitted, “To be honest, I think I was really bored and I completely checked out of the class, I just started taking pictures of pretty much anything. Pause yeah, he loves Batman...” Lucas-L admitted that he was usually bored in science class, “After 20 minutes, I am out of it, I just don‟t pay attention…I like to kind of move around, so you are not sitting in one place, drool is coming out of your mouth” (interview).

Interest Students identified moments when they were engaged and interested. Willa-H talked about the surprises and unexpected activities during her trip to Stone Lab, “Going to Stone Lab, I didn‟t know what to expect in the first place. So everything was, you turn around and there was something new. And you are, oh, I didn‟t know that was going to happen.” “When I first stepped onto [the beach], I didn‟t expect it to be gravel, it was weird, I am used to sandy beaches, like even on Kelley‟s [Island], it is sand. It was weird” (Willa-H, interview). The novelty of the setting grabbed her interest and her curiosity motivated her to explore. Paige-H described triggered interest concerning this trip, “Just being able to explore that and see all the different formations nature has made around it, was pretty cool. And then you get to see all the plants and animals, mostly plants, all the way back

there and have different teachers point out to you, that is this, and it does this. That‟s kind of cool” (interview). Lauren-L experienced the same activities as the other participants, yet she exhibited little interest, in spite of the new environment and island activities. On the first day, she took only four digital images. During the post-trip interviews, Lauren-L did not discuss anything concerning her experiences of that first day‟s activities. During the botany class, Lauren-L did discover an interest in plants, and said that while she was not inspired to take more science classes, she did crave to go out into nature and look for new plants. Willa-H-„s final comments in her final interview defined her experience at Stone Lab: It was really intense, I just felt, very curious, but also, [pause], I don‟t know how to explain it. Amazed. Because I had never been put into a situation where you were like in depth, going into all this stuff, it was like, it wasn‟t in a classroom, like you were there learning, and it wasn‟t like learning, you were exploring, you were doing all this stuff, I was like this is awesome. It was also very exhausting, you are doing so much and even though it was like, I was cold and wet and muddy, through all of that, it was just wonderful, it was great, and I just remember, not when I was at Stone Lab, but after, when I came home, I just missed it so much, it kind of hurt a little bit. I just want to be back at Stone Lab. For one more day. Willa-H was intrinsically motivated. She was curious. She was excited. She wanted to continue exploring and discovering.

Interest Influenced Future Lifeplans Three students acknowledged that this field trip had affected their career and life paths. Most profoundly affected was Willa-H, “It made me sure of what I want to do, to go into a science career. I realized there is so much that I wanted to learn and do and I wanted to be the one who was figuring things out and telling people about it, so when we were exploring and learning, I really want to be the one exploring and learning all the time. That is just what I want to do with my life” (interview). PaigeH said that because of her time at Stone Lab, she was changing her major from American Sign Language to environmental science.

Culture Codes connecting culture and Stone Lab as related to this study were minimal. Stone Lab was the setting for social interactions. Many images and comments involved peers, including during exploration and activities. New bonds formed among the 50 students. Willa-H voiced sadness when she was discussing her gallery of photographs, and came to the final image of the group photo taken moments before all the students loaded onto the buses to head home, “here we are, now I will never forget any of you” (interview).

Island Setting Facilitated Class or Activity Most participants did not make direct, relevant comments concerning the setting, but regularly inferentially acknowledged the Stone Laboratory and island settings. Kaylie-H recognized that the Stone Lab setting created a mystique or ambiance that could not be recreated in the classroom. “It has been there so long and so many students have come there, and have had life changing experiences and learned so much. I like that it has that feeling of age and that feeling of knowledge in it” (interview). Most comments focused upon experiences and not the setting, although it was the unique setting that accommodated the experiences, as illustrated by the following comment, “I liked the macroinvertebrate walk on Alligator Bar. We saw several [species of animals] that I had not seen before, we found a water beetle that is actually kind of rare and we don‟t usually find it, and we found it, and we were kind of excited about that, laughing really geeky things, that was pretty cool” (Paige-H, interview). Participants did not initiate any comments concerning tools used on the field trip, but mentioned tools as a means to explore or discover. Tools were essential to the experiences and seemed to be considered part of the experience. “We were trying, all of us, tried into the microscope to get pictures” (Kaylie interview). Paige used the identification keys to identify macroinvertebrates, plankton, and plants, “I knew it was Dutchman‟s breeches, because I had seen it before, but trying to get it to key” (interview). Paige-H and Kaylie-H were able to explore the wetland because they had the foresight to bring along boots, “We had to go into this back area that was almost too deep, it hit the top of our boots” (Paige, interview). During his interviews, David-L acknowledged using tools on the research vessel to determine water clarity and depth. The most common tools that participants recognized were microscopes, identification keys, nets, binoculars, and hammers.

Discussion and Recommendations Literature describes biological field stations in general as venues where education and research occurs. Field stations themselves are rarely the focus of research (NRC 2014). This study examined the role a biological field station played in relation to students‟ lived experiences. As demonstrated through students‟ statements, the field station‟s setting played an important role in the students‟ experiences by providing a new, stimulating setting where they could safely direct their personal interests into explorations and discoveries. Student participants identified two important aspects of field station settings. First, Stone Lab provided a unique and novel venue where the students attended environmental science workshop classes. The field station provided equipped laboratories, managed shorelines, landscaped and natural areas, and an environment where students were able to explore safely. Stone Lab could not construct the awe and wonder, but it provided the ingredients for students to experience awe and wonder. Second, Stone Lab‟s unique setting inspired curiosity

and motivation among students, who became extrinsically and intrinsically motivated, depending on the depth of their interest, compelled them to explore the new environments. Stone Lab is a modern, high tech research facility for researchers. The high school students enjoyed using the tools and equipment that is not typically available for use in traditional secondary school science rooms. Although tools enabled exploration, discovery, understanding, and knowledge, the participants did not recognize tools as a source of interest or excitement. Students expected and accepted the presence of the tools. Tools held no special place in the participants‟ memories. There was a great divergence in what the students found interesting and significant. Students already interested in science were excited to participate in the activities, to explore, discover, and try out new skills. Students with less interest in science became excited about the novel setting of the big water Great Lakes ecosystem, where each activity was an entirely new experience. Biological field stations might consider creating two tier programs that may provide high-science-interest students activities focused on new skills and knowledge, and providing low-science-interest students activities focused on experiencing, exploring, and discovering the novel setting, and how that novel setting is relevant in their lives.

Impact on Science Education In reference to science education, the student participants unanimously related increased interest in science because of the field station experiences. The immersive science environment and Stone Lab‟s setting provided authentic, hands-on activities and opportunities for exploration and discovery that engaged the students and triggered interest at some level. Learning requires interest. Interest, especially intrinsic interest, will lead to increased learning, scientific literacy, and promote interactions and persistence within the STEM fields (Hidi and Renninger 2006; NRC 2014).

Impact on Students’ lives Three of the six high school student participants redefined their career goals after their four-day immersive Stone Lab field experience. Students may read, study, and learn about wildlife, botanical, and environmental career paths, but an authentic experience provides the knowledge and motivation to realize the reality of such a career (NRC 2014). Not all student participants were so deeply affected by the Stone Lab experience. Lucas-L attended the field trip to be with his friends and disclosed he had little interest in the planned activities. After the trip he admitted, “Everything out here was really cool to do, but I just do not like science.” On the other hand, Lucas-L‟s photovoice images, which illustrated what experiences he thought were meaningful or significant, included animals, activities, and poignant landscapes. To determine a truer level of impact a four-day field trip at a field station may have on students‟ lives, a study is needed to examine the long-term effects on low and high science interest high school students.

Effect on Society The student participants experienced Stone Lab as a new and exciting environment. What may have seemed ordinary for teachers and Stone Lab staff was a first time experience for many students. Lucas-L discovered the tranquility of the moonlit night while listening to the waves lapping the shoreline, Willa-H saw a rainbow, David-L saw big water for the first time in his life. Seeds for new consciousness and appreciation for the environment were planted. For students not interested in science, Stone Lab provided knowledge and personal connections to the Lake Erie ecosystem and to environmental science. As future adults, these students may possess a stronger scientific literacy that will guide their decision making at home, at work, and in the voting booth. Field experiences associated with inquiry based learning have been shown to “improve a student‟s science scores, self-esteem, conflict resolution, problem solving, motivation to learn, and classroom behavior” (NRC 2014 p. 13.) A positive field station experience may later lead to participation in citizen science, or as a volunteer in the community (NRC 2014). The student participants admitted that this Stone Laboratory field trip indeed altered their perception of Lake Erie, of environmental science, and for some, the reality that a STEM-related career pathway might be right for them.

Conclusion American science education is in crisis and people are needed to solve the crisis. Students need to be prepared for things that have not been invented yet. Students need knowledge and impactful experiences that will equip them as adults of tomorrow with the tools necessary to solve these problems. Classroom lecture alone will not get the job done. Students go into drone-mode and become uninterested and unmotivated (Behrendt 2014). The classroom must be taken somewhere new, to where the students are able to become interested, a place where doors open to intrinsically motivated learning and deeper knowledge. Students need to understand the interconnectedness between the fundamentals of science, the environment, and everyday life. Quality experiences impact student learning through increased interest, increased motivation to learn, increased knowledge and a broader perspective that will help them to apply their knowledge to the world around them (Behrendt 2014). Through the words and lived experiences of the student participants, there is agreement that the four-day experience at Stone Lab was beneficial in multiple ways. The students explored, discovered, and reflected over the things that they personally found interesting. The students developed and discovered interest in many aspects of biology, environmental science, geology, and the geography of the region. Some students admitted that the field station experience might have redirected their lives to a career in the environmental sciences. The students recognized the value of Stone Lab, and ostensibly any biological field station that provides a focus on student exploration, discovery, education, and applied knowledge to the STEM fields.

References American Institutes for Research. (2005). Effects of outdoor education programs for children in California. [accessed 2014 Dec 29]. http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/Outdoorschoolr eport_0.pdf Arvey, M.D., Riemer, W.J. (1966). Island biological field stations of the United States. BioScience, 16(4), 249-254. Behrendt, M. 2014. Nature of High School Students‟ Experiences at a Biological Field Station. [Dissertation]. [Athens, OH]: Ohio University. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist 35, 513-531. Creswell, J.W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design. LA: Sage. Falk, J.H., & Dierking, L.D. (2000). Learning from museums: Visitor experiences and the making of meaning. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough?: An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field methods, 18(1), 59-82. Hidi, S., & Renninger, K.A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 111-127. Hofstein, A., & Rosenfeld, S. (1996). Bridging the gap between formal and informal science learning. Studies in Science Education, 28, 87–112. Kolb, D. 1983. Experiential learning, experiences as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kolb, A.Y., & Kolb, D.A. (2005). The Kolb learning style inventory – version 3.1 2005 technical specifications. [accessed 2014 Dec 29]. http://www.whitewaterrescue.com/support/pagepics/lsitechmanual.pdf. Malinowski, J., & Fortner, R.W. (2011). The effect of participation in a Stone Laboratory workshop a place-based environmental education program on student affect toward science. Ohio Journal of Science, 110(2), 13-17. National Research Council (2009). Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. National Research Council (2014). Enhancing the value and sustainability of field stations and marine laboratories in the 21st century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Ohio State‟s Stone Laboratory. (2013). Mission Statement. [accessed 2014 Dec 29]. http://stonelab.osu.edu/about/mission/. Onwuegbuzie, A.J., & Leech, N.L. (2007). A call for qualitative power analyses. Quality and Quantity, 41: 105-121. Organization of Biological Field Stations. 2014. Research at field stations. [accessed 2014 Dec 29]. http://www.obfs.org/research-at-field-stations. Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Rennie, L.J. (2007). Learning science outside school. In Handbook of research on science education, ed. SK. Abell, and NG Lederman. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Saylan, C, Blumstein, DT. (2011). The failure of environmental education: And how we can fix it. Berkeley: University of California Press. Smith, M.K. (2001). David A. Kolb on experiential learning. [accessed 2014 Dec 29]. http://infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning/. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Stake, RE. 1995. The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA; Sage. Wang, C., & Burris, M. (1997). Photovoice: concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education & Behavior 24(3), 369-387. Wellington, J. (1990). Formal and informal learning in science: The role of the interactive science centres. Physics Education 25(5), 247-252. Woodhouse, J.L., & Knapp, C.E. (2000). Place-based curriculum and instruction: Outdoor and environmental education approaches. ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools Charleston WV. [accessed 2014 Dec 29]. http://www.kacee.org/files/Place%20based%20education.pdf Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods. LA: Sage. Zandstra, A. M. (2012). The impact of an informal science program on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge and interest. [Dissertation]. [Waco, TX)]: Baylor University. [accessed 2014 Dec 29]. http://beardocs.baylor.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2104/8481/anne_zan dstra_phd.pdf?sequence=1

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 17-26, March 2015

A Needs Assessment Survey on Teacher Readiness of Science Pre-Service Teachers: Towards a Contextualized Student Teaching Enhancement Program (STEP) Darryl Roy T. Montebon Philippine Normal University Philippines Abstract. This research aims to evaluate the level of need of the preservice teachers in different areas to design a contextualized student teacher enhancement program. The respondents of this research are the one hundred thirteen (N=113) science pre-service students taking up field study courses at the Institute of Teaching and Learning of the Philippine Normal University. A qualitative research design was utilized in this study. A journal analysis procedure was also done to determine the student perception in different areas asked in the survey questionnaire. The survey results showed that pre-service teachers have a moderate level of need in seven out of ten items in the survey (M≥ 2.0).The level of need of the pre-service teacher does not significantly vary when categorized per major (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05) except on the teaching strategy (X2(2) =12.453, p = 0.02) area. When grouped per gender, the mean ranks do not significantly vary on the different areas being surveyed (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05). Respondents also revealed that they need to improve themselves to possess good teacher qualities. Thus, it is recommended that a contextualized student teaching enhancement program be implemented to help the pre-service teachers with their needs. Keywords: Needs Assessment; Pre-Service Teacher Education; Contextualized Student Teaching Enhancement Program; Pre-service Teacher Training

1. INTRODUCTION The Philippine Normal University has been assigned as the National Center for Teacher Education in the Philippines (R.A. 9647). Thus, it is the institution’s responsibility to produce quality and excellent teachers. The present curriculum for the bachelor’s degree program in the Philippines include Field Study (FS) courses that enable students to relate the theories and concepts they learned in their professional education courses with real classroom experiences. In these courses, pre-service teachers are exposed to various teaching experiences such as

designing effective instructional materials, conducting demonstration teachings, and making valid and reliable assessment tools. To ensure that pre-service teachers experience the desired trainings inthe Philippine Normal University, the Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL) is tasked to design innovations that will help equip the pre-service teachers with concept, skills, and attitude to become an excellent teacher. Prior to deployment to public schools where they will have their formal immersion of the learning environment, known as off campus practice teaching, ITL serves as the avenue for baseline experiences. It is in ITL that pre-service teachers begin to observe, experience, and explore the teaching profession. A university supervisor is assigned to make sure that pre-service teachers get the necessary training and experiences in the classroom before they get deployed to public schools. In some cases, their university supervisor in the field study, are also the ones that supervise them in their off-campus trainings. The results of this research can be a baseline data for designing a program that will help pre-service teachers be prepared for the challenges of the newly implemented K12 Curriculum. It is also the aim of this research to provide meaningful learning experiences for pre-service teachers by exposing them to a program designed for their specific needs. Thus, such programmed is contextualized. The results of this research can also be utilized by other teacher training institutions to create a similar training that of the STEP or even adapt it.

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Education programs in the Philippines offer professional courses that discuss theories of learning, educational technologies and teaching strategies. In terms of the respective discipline in science, rigid concept based courses are offered. The Philippine Normal University offers a variety of science major courses such as General Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Each majorhsip program is designed for pre-service teachers to be developed in the content knowledge of their respective disciplines. Moreover, to prepare them with the theories, techniques, and strategies in teaching science, different professional courses are also offered. These professional and major courses are designed to reinforce each other to help pre-service teachers as they prepare to become professional teachers. However, these courses are not sufficient to equip pre-service teachers for the field of work. According to Young, Grant, Montbriand, and Therriault (2001) applying theories into practice is a must. Thus, practice teaching courses are required. In this regard, practicum in teaching, known as off campus training, is a major requirement for the courses in the bachelor education. The pre-service teaching trainings offer best experiences that promote professional development among pre-service teachers (Howitt, 2007; Lougrahn, Moulhall, and Berry 2008; as cited by Cheng, 2013). Exposing pre-service teachers to real classroom activities and allowing them to handle the class themselves are important experiences for teacher institutions to produce effective, excellent, and professional teachers. Student teaching experiences allow pre-service teachers to develop positive self-efficacy beliefs, instructional materials beliefs, and classroom management beliefs (Yilmaz and Cavas, 2008). Such positive beliefs on taking on the role of a teacher ensure the affectivity of a pre-service teacher when he or she becomes an in-service educator.

The call for teacher-training programs that are responsive to the growing diversity of learners is high. The 21st century learners need teachers who are not only experts in their own field but also are knowledgeable in other disciplines (Queensland College of Teachers, 2012). This claim has been supported by Cheng (2009) that the need in teacher education has shifted from effective movements toward the global movements. He described the paradigm shift to be waves of change from just merely delivering the content knowledge, to stakeholder satisfaction, multiple and sustainable development as change in the society arise. With these changes, university training must be able to prepare those who are going to be teachers. Teachers should be prepared to handle situations inside and outside the classroomsthat will effectively promote change and solve conflicts in the present times (Young, et. al, 2001). Moreover, teachers should not only be locally competitive but globally as well (Cheng, 2009). While the practicum program is a good way of inducting pre-service teachers, it is imperative to look for alternative ways to prepare them. Craig, Kraft, and du Plessis (1998) suggested that research based programs should be done to address the call of the changing time. Thus, this research is set to explore ways to that will help science pre-service teachers in the Philippines respond to the K12 curriculum challenges. Grossman et al (2009) described that a professional practice with the goal to develop expert practitioners should prepare a program that orchestrates understanding, skill, relationship and even the identity of the practitioner. In practicing a certain profession, it is not easy to identify the practice from the practitioner. With Grossman et alâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2009) idea in mind, it is essential to design a program that will help practitioners in their field of work. In this case, this research aims to design a program that will help pre-service teachers as they prepare themselves to become expert practitioners of education. The aligned theoretical and pedagogical academic preparations in teacher education are thought to promote meaningful and worthwhile pre-service experiences (Ziechner, 2010; as cited by Cheng 2013).To identify the different factors that pre-service teachers really need, and support them with those needs can enhance the teacher education programs. In the Philippines, curriculum change has drastically happened. The former Basic Education Curriculum has been made into Enhanced Basic Curriculum or the K12 Curriculum by virtue of the R.A. 10533. The new curriculum calls for the revision of teacher preparation in the universities. In effect, Teacher Education Institutions (TEIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) have to reconstruct their existing bachelors programs that will help meet the demands of the new curriculum. However, the science preservice teachers which are still about to graduate are not prepared for it since their course works are designed for the old curriculum. Thus, enhancement programs are really needed. As a response, the Institute of Teaching and Learning of Philippine Normal University initiated a Student Teacher Enhancement Program (STEP) that will help assist the outgoing pre-service teachers with their need in adjusting to the K12 program (Agustin, 2014). A seminar type training was done to deal on the different areas of the K12 like orientation on the new content standards, mode of instruction, and methods of assessment. The professors at the institute prepared lectures that will help pre-service teachers with the K12 challenges.

The participants in the program are the pre-service teachers who are in line for off campus pre-service training. Based on the evaluation, the STEP initiated by the ITL department was successful. Thus, this research serves as a follow up to the STEP program. It is deemed necessary that the STEP be conducted in field study pre-service teachers to help them not only in their practice teaching within the institute itself but also as they go out to take their formal off campus preservice teaching. 2.1 Research Problems In view of the literature reviewed, this research aims to design a contextualized STEP for the pre-service teachers to prepare them for the pre-service teaching program. Specifically, this research aims to achieve the following objectives: 1. Assess the readiness of science pre-service teachers in the different areas to be developed 2. Evaluate if teaching readiness varies by a. Major or Specialization or, b. Gender 3. Design a contextualized Student Teaching Enhancement Program(STEP) that will help science pre-service teachers with their needs based on the needs assessment survey

3. METHODOLOGIES 3.1 Demographics of the Respondents The respondents of this research are the one hundred thirteen (N= 113) purposely chosen science pre-service students of the researcher taking up field study courses at the Institute of Teaching and Learning of the Philippine Normal University. The respondents are the pre-service teachers supervised by the researcher. Their ages range from 19 to 21 years old. Table 1 shows the demographicsof the respondents. Table 1 Demographics of Respondents Majors Male Female Biology Biology for Teachers General Science TOTAL

8 17 6

35 28 19

Total 43 45 25 113

3.2 Research Design and Instruments This research is qualitative in nature. It utilized survey and journal analysis method. To find out the level of need of the science pre-service teachers, a survey questionnaire adapted from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation Economic and Development (OECD) was utilized. The survey contains questions that allow pre-service teachers to self-assess their level of need in the different areas given using a scale of 1 to 4, 1 as the lowest and 4 as the highest level of need. Upon subjecting to the reliability test, a Cronbachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alpha coefficient of 0.878 was obtained.

To interpret the mean obtained in the different areas being surveyed, the following scale has been set: Scale 0.1 to 1.0 1.1 to 2.0 2.1 to 3.0 3.1 to 4.0

Interpretation No need at all Low level of need Moderate level of need High Level of need

For the journaling method, pre-service teachers are allowed to write on their journal on the topic of readiness to be a teacher. They were encouraged to identify which aspect of teaching they need help the most. The survey was administered to the respondents after the general orientation in the field study course was held. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Needs Assessment Survey Result Table 2 shows the results of the analysis of the needs assessment survey of the respondents (N=113) in general. Table 2 Survey Results on the Needs of Pre-service Teachers Areas of Concern ICT Concept Readiness Communication w/ Students Standards Lesson Planning Classroom Management Assessment Teaching Strategies K12 Implementation Questioning Skills

Mean

2.52 2.83 2.86 2.88 2.91 2.95 3.00 3.13 3.17 3.18

.94 .84 .81 .71 .73 .77 .73 .73 .83 .77

Note: respondents used 4 point Likert scale ranging 1 (no need) to 4 (high need)

The survey results showed that pre-service teachers have a moderate level of need in seven out of ten items in the survey (M≥ 2.0). When ranked, the areas that ranked low (M≤ 2.91) are ICT, Concept Readiness, and Communication with students, standards and lesson planning. Though it is still in the range of the moderate level of need, the item that scored the lowest mean is the integration of computer assisted instruction or ICT (M=2.52). Upon the analysis of the data gathered in the survey questionnaire, it can be inferred that the area where most of the pre-service teachers have the highest level of need is the ability to facilitate classroom discussion using inquiry based instruction where questioning skills is a must (M=3.18). A number of forty one percent (41%) respondents havea moderate level of need and thirty eight (38 %) percent with a high level of need.

“The mode of instruction in the new K12 Program will be inquiry-based and the role of the teacher is merely a facilitator. Thus, a good questioning skill is really important. Such strategy will enable students to show their understanding and allow teachers to gauge their learning.” (Female, General Science Education) The next area identified to be of high level of need is the implementation of the K12 program (M = 3.17). This area showed the most respondents that indicated a high level of need (40.7 %). The new K12 program has been an issue in the Philippine education system, particularly with the science teachers since science will no longer be taught by specific discipline for each year but will be an integration of all the sciences with the competencies arranged in a spiral progression. “The K12 curriculum is my concern because when I get into the field, I must be flexible in teaching the different branches of science so I can execute the curriculum successfully. Therefore, I need to find ways to improve my concepts on the different branches of science and understand how they are related to each other. “(Female, Biology Education) Another concern of the pre-service teachers is teaching strategies (M=3.13). Most of them are concerned on how to run a classroom and deliver their lessons to students with ease and appropriate methods of instruction (48.7% for moderate and 32.7% for high level of need). As a beginning teacher, it is understandable that such concern will really arise. “I have a need to focus on learning different learning pedagogies to be used in my class. I believe that an effective teacher is one that promotes efficient teaching and learning process using appropriate methods and strategies.” (Female, General Science) In the new K12 program, one of the major challenges is the way to assess students’ learning. Aside from the paper and pen test, authentic assessment is encouraged. Further, a new way of classifying test items through KPUP was introduced (DepEd order 73 s. 2012). Maximo (2014) in his blog described KPUP as various levels of assessment. KPUP stands for Knowledge, Process, Understanding, and Performance/Product. Each level of assessment has a corresponding percentage to allocate its distribution in the evaluation material prepared. One factor to a successful teaching and learning process is classroom management, and the key to it would be pedagogical and content knowledge. Jann Joseph (2010) in her research reiterated that pedagogical methods and concepts should be linked to produce a science teacher with high self-efficacy. Teachers with high self-efficacy can stand in front of the classroom with confidence since he/she has the determination to overcome classroom challenges. The respondents also realized such importance of the classroom management skills as shown in the results of the survey (M=2.95). Upon the analysis of all the journals written by the respondents, a great number of them are concerned with one area that is not part of the survey instrument which is the way to carry themselves as a teacher (65 %, N=113). Most of them are not confident standing in front of the class and facilitate classroom discussion due to several reasons. Their anxieties vary from the way they look, dress up, and speak English.

“Self-confidence is one of my personal issues. Though I mastered the topic to be discussed, I still stutter due to nervousness”. (Male, General Science) “Honestly, I have a problem communicating with a large group of people. It’s not easy for me to talk in front of people I don’t know because I am scared to commit mistakes and be judged by others.” (Female, Biology) 4.2 Mean Comparisons on Major and Gender The data has been subjected using Kolmogorov Smirnov Test to find out if the scores are normally distributed or not. Upon the analysis, all factors have recorded below the significance level (p ≤ 0.000 at sig = 0.05) for both gender and major differences. This means that the scores are not normally distributed, thus a nonparametric test should be utilized to compare the means based on majorship and gender, and in this case, Kruskal Wallis was utilized.

2.381

1.900

2.183

12.45 3 2

.373

.589

.877

.304

.387

.336

.002

ICT

K12 Implementation

.263

Questioning Skills

Lesson Planning

1.058

Communication w/ Students

Concept Readiness

1.975

Teaching Strategies

Classroom Management

Asym p. Sig.

Assessment

ChiSquare df

Standards

Table 3 Kruskal Wallis Test for Majorship

1.570

.235

.144

.456

.889

.930

*Note: Grouping Variable: Major

The Kruskal Wallis test of the respondents as categorized per major shows that nine out of ten factors show no significant differences (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05) except on the teaching strategy (X2(2) =12.453, p = 0.02) area. Among the different majors, general science has the highest mean rank of 75.10 compared to biology education majors (M=48.84) and biology for teachers (M=54.74). This difference in teaching strategy may have been a result of having the general science majors observe the teacher-researcher in the classroom longer than the other two other majors. Also, the said difference may have been the result of course content difference. Biology majors are more concern with the different teaching strategy on the different branches of science since most of their content courses are focused on biology when compared with the General Science majors who are exposed to the different branches of science. Thus, they recorded a lesser need for teaching strategies.

Assessment

Classroom Management

Concept Readiness

Lesson Planning

K12 Implementation

Teaching Strategies

Communication w/ Students

Questioning Skills

ICT

ChiSquare df

Standards

Table 4 Kruskal Wallis Test for Gender

3.264

1.383

.703

7.612

1.269

.010

.996

.236

2.697

2.333

1 1 1 Asymp. .071 .240 .402 Sig. *Note: Grouping: Gender

.006

.260

.920

.318

.627

.101

.127

The Kruskal Wallis test for gender revealed that there are no significant differences on the different areas being surveyed (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05). The differences in mean ranks do not necessarily vary from each other.

5. CONCLUSION Based on the data gathered and its analysis, it can be concluded that pre-service teachers have a moderate to high level of need to the different items asked in the survey. The area with the highest level of need is the ability to facilitate classroom discussion using inquiry based instruction (M=3.18), while the area with the lowest level of need is the integration of computer assisted instruction or ICT (M=2.52). The level of need of the pre-service teacher does not significantly vary when categorized per major (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05) except on the teaching strategy (X2(2) =12.453, p = 0.02) area. When grouped by gender, the mean ranks do not significantly differ on the different areas being surveyed (p≥ 0.05 at sig. 0.05). Respondents also revealed that they need to improve themselves to possess the qualities of a teacher. 5.1 Contextualized Student Teaching Enhancement Program (Context-STEP) Based on the results of the needs assessment survey, pre-service teachers manifested that they have high to moderate levels of needs on the different areas asked in the survey. Such concerns are assumed to affect their performance in the practice teaching program. Thus, it is the aim of this research to address such concerns. To do so, this research adapts the STEP to be implemented on pre-service teachers who are in their field study courses. The field study courses allow preservice teachers to practice their teaching skills in the classroom such as lesson planning, facilitating learning, and conducting evaluations. In the original STEP program, a seminar type was utilized. In the proposed contextualized STEP, there will be an incorporation of coaching before demonstration, observations during demo, critiquing the plan and its implementation, and assistance in preparing assessment materials. Their application of the concepts, strategies, methods and insights gained in the contextualized STEP will be evaluated during class observations and output processing. Continuous monitoring will be done to check on how pre-service are

doing as they apply their learnings from the contextualized STEP. Below is a program outline on how the contextualized STEP will be implemented. Among the ten categories in the survey only the five areas that recorded the highest level of need were considered since the time that the pre-service teachers will spend with the institute is limited. It is necessary for the designed program to be accomplished on time. Further, some areas were clustered since they are integrated with each other naturally. Area K12 Implementation



 Teacher Personality Teaching Strategies Classroom Management Questioning Skills

 



Assessment



Objective Familiarize oneself with different features of the K12 program

Enhance teacher personality skills Identify effective teaching strategies Facilitate the class using principles of good classroom management Ask effective questions that will promote inquiry on students Prepare valid assessment tools

          

   

Method Seminar Workshop Curriculum analysis Teacher interviews Class observations Seminar Workshop Lesson planning Simulation of demonstration Class demonstration Critiquing of demonstration

Seminar Workshop Output processing Item analysis

To evaluate if the objectives of the program are met, the pre-service teachers will be subjected to a teaching achievement test. The questions will be taken from the areas included in the contextualized STEP. Open ended questions will also be provided to analyze how the program affected them.

REFERENCES Agustin, M. (2014). Student Teaching Enhancement Program 2014 Guidelines. Institute of Teaching and Learning, Philippine Normal University. An investigation of best practice in evidence-based assessment within preservice teacher education programs and other professions. (Queensland College of Teachers) 2012. Retrieved from http://www.qct.edu.au/PDF/PSU/BestPpracticeEvidenceBasedAsessmentPre serviceReacherEdPrograms.PDF Aypay, A. (2009) Teachers Evaluation of Their Pre-Service Teacher Training. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice. pp. 113-1121. Retrieved from

https://www.edam.com.tr/kuyeb/pdf/en/158ed1df960f59116fd2b27d2e9b66c eENTAM.pdf Cheng, E. C. (2013). Enhancing the Quality of Pre-service Teachers’ Learning in Teaching Practicum. Retrieved from http://nevelestudomany.elte.hu/downloads/2013/nevelestudomany_2013_1_ 6-16.pdf Cheng, Y. (2008). Paradigm Shift in Pre-Service Teacher Education: Implications for Innovations and Practice. Innovative Practices in Pre-Service Teacher Education an Asia-Pacific Perspective. Retrieved from https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2 &cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCkQFjAB&url=https%3A%2F%2F Craig, H.J., Kraft, R. J., du Plessis, J., (1998) Teacher Development Making and Impact, Retrieved from http://people.umass.edu/educ870/teacher_education/Documents/Craigbook.pdf Grossman, P., Compton, C., Igra, D., Ronfeldt, E., Shahan, E., Williamson, P. (2009) Teaching Practice: A Cross Professional Perspective. Teachers College Record. Vol. 111. No. 9. pp. 2055-2100. Retrieved from https://cset.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/files/documents/publications/ Grossman-TeachingPracticeACross-ProfessionalPerspective.pdf Joseph, Jann (2010) Does Intention Matter? Assessing the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs of Pre-service Teachers as Compared to the General Student Population. Electronic Journal of Science Education, Vol. 14 No. 1, 2-14. Retrieved from http://ejse.southwestern.edu/article/download/7332/5620 Maximo, A (February 7, 2014) Grade Conscious. The Construct. Retrieved from http://www.alexmaximo.com/deped-k-12-kpup-grading-assessment/ McCawley, P. (2009). Methods for Conducting Educational Needs Assessment Guidelines for Cooperative Extension System Personals. Retrieved from http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/edcomm/pdf/BUL/BUL0870.pdf Teacher Questionnaire. (n.d.) OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey Retrieved January 10, 2015 from http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/43081350.pdf Survey Analysis Guidelines (n.d.) Retrieved January 4, 2015 from http://plus50.aacc.nche.edu/documents/publications/6_SurveyAnalysis.pdf Yılmaz, H. and Çavaş, P. H. (2008). The Effect of the Teaching Practice on Pre-service Elementary Teachers’ Science Teaching Efficacy and Classroom Management BeliefsEurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 4(1), 45-54. Retrieved from http://ejmste.com/v4n1/Eurasia_v4n1_Yilmaz_Cavas.pdf Young, E., Grant, P., Montbriand, C., Therriault (2001). Educating Pre-Service Teachers, The State of Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/literacy/preservice.pdf

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 27-42, March 2015

The Experience of Hidden Curriculum on Selecting a Supervisor from the Perspective of Students Fatemeh Robati and Forouzan Tonkaboni* Department of Educational Science, Payame Noor University (PNU), Tehran, Iran Mohammad Mohammad Bagheri Kerman Medical University, Bahonar Hospital, Department of Infectious Diseases Abstract: Hidden curriculum is a new topic presented by the experts of curriculum during the recent years. In this study, the criteria for selecting a supervisor were studied through the experiences gained by the graduates of PhD. courses. This research is a qualitative and a phenomenological study. In this study, all participants were graduated PhD students. The research tools include semi-structured interviews and a sampling method of usual and ordinary cases; and for data analysis, subject Open Coding and Selective Coding (optional) were used. This paper was the result of interviews with 54 Ph.D. students from medical and non-medical universities and also State and Azad Universities. Moreover, the hidden experiences of PhD. students regarding the selection of a supervisor were studied. In this study, 12 main categories were extracted from 123 common factors found in our investigation that include: behavioral and ethical characteristics, executive positions, scientific positions, being well-known or famous, access to supervisors, having skill and mastery in research and statistics, having specialty and expertise in a specific field, limitations and constraints, senior students, gender, supportive ability of supervisors and the futurism or anticipating the future. Results showed that the hidden factors such as ethical and behavioral characteristics of supervisors or professors, their academic and scientific ranks, governed laws on the universities, rules and regulations of the universities, informal networks, and the possible supports and limitations can affect the selection of students (regarding the selection of a supervisor). Also, some of the guidelines and regulations issued by ministries might be effective. Many of these regulations are not implemented and therefore require more profound thinking on this subject. Keywords: Hidden Curriculum, Supervisor, Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Experience

1. Introduction Hidden curriculum is a relatively new topic which was presented by the related experts during the recent years. According to Eisner(1995), schools are teaching three lessonplans simultaneously including explicit curriculum (formal), hidden curriculum (explicit) and ineffective or invalid curriculum. This issue is against the current belief on the curriculum of schools which is presented as a one-dimensional phenomenon and considers the schools as a place like kindergarten in order to execute explicit curriculums. Mehrmohammadi (2008) believed that hidden curriculum is nothing except taking steps into deep-thinking toward teaching and training flows and preventing simplethinking. Also, he believed that learning and teaching the invalid and hidden curriculum means that both affect the students in order to form and shape their experiences and their presence in the learning and teaching system. Trying to present the learning results or experiences of students without considering these two concepts, or these two curriculums along with a formal one, is an incomplete and ineffective attempt and never presents this field completely. In most cases, the effect of hidden curriculum is more than the formal curriculum as some individuals do not observe these principles while learning the related principles and norms. Selecting a supervisor during the researching process and its effect on the referential valuation of subjects and titles of thesis and also its place in the curriculum of learning centers is one of the important issues in the curriculum of universities (Yarmohammadian, 2007). Occasionally, PhD. students consider some criteria for choosing the professors, which potentially affect their research course. Highlighting the characteristics of some professors by PhD. students give an especial value to this course and increases its significance. The presented paper was done by considering this presumption that the universities are centers of science and most scientific studies require guidelines; and also, the students make hard efforts to select a supervisor though different ways. For this reason, this paper tries to determine the effective hidden factors on selecting a supervisor during the research course. According to Benson and Snider, there are no high schools and kindergarten in which the hidden curriculum had been imposed on the students and the learning boards, but in fact, it affects the whole process of education (Maleki, 2012). Ghourchin (2010) allocated the hidden curriculum to teaching the informal texts of value systems, norms and perceptions, the non-academic beliefs and the informal

aspects of High Educational Centers which result in a training system toward the governed philosophy, structure and texture of a society. In other words, the hidden curriculum refers to a set of learning(s) in High Education System which resulted in a governed philosophy in the educational environment (universities and the institutes of higher education) without informing the members of scientific board and the students. The hidden curriculum includes implicit, informal and intangible teaching of valuesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; system, norms, beliefs and the informal aspects of universities and high educational centers which affect the training system and the society texture. The hidden curriculum basically is not approved by the formal experts of schools but it can serve as an effective method to the formal and executive curriculum (Fathivajargah, 2007). In any case, there are various hidden factors within a research course which affect the values and aims of this course and also decrease the validity of PhD. degree and the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; success in this course such as in selecting the supervisor. Therefore, in this paper the experiences of PhD. graduate students from selecting the supervisor were studied and also the effective hidden factors in this domain were examined. Since there are various factors which are not related to the formal curriculum and the experts of education ignore them (do not consider them), but these factors affect the thoughts, emotions and the behavior of learners and also they are mostly effective on the explicit curriculum in most cases. Therefore, the hidden curriculum determines an extent which is the basis of value and self-confidence of participants significantly and this hidden curriculum affects the selection of supervisor more than the formal one. Certainly, these kinds of hidden curriculums considerably affect the whole process of the research course. And also, ignoring the negative effects of hidden curriculum makes the accomplishment of research course aims hard and difficult. Although the conditions of selecting the supervisor within the explicit curriculum (pre-designed curriculum) of universities were presented in brief but there are effective hidden factors in order to select a supervisor which affect the research course. In a study by Tonkaboni (2015), she found that a high percentage of students believed in the scientific weaknesses of some of the teachers and its first rank among other hidden learning shows the effects that the professor teaching has on students. Therefore, the planners and experts must consider the hidden curriculum in all educational and research fields within PhD. courses. The writer of this paper, by reading the books and journals related to the training and learning (education) area,

in particular educational planning, as well as searching the internet and Persian information banks such as Scientific Information Bank of Jahad Daneshgahi, Noor Journals Base and IRANDOC website, SID, etc. did not find any research named studying the effective hidden factors on selecting the supervisor in the research course, but other studies related to this topic were found. In a study by Safaeemovahed and Attaran (2013), they found the especial dynamics of supervisor – student relationships in doing the research projects and also investigate the incorrect norms that the students consider them when selecting their supervisor. Based on the obtained results from an interview with 6 M.A. students of Planning Curriculum who were in the stage of selecting a supervisor, the related norms (for selecting a supervisor) were classified into six groups: behavior and characteristics of the professors, academic and non-academic norms, possible support, and limitations. The results showed that the students will access to these norms through observing the performance of professors in class and defense sessions and also the informal network such as the former students. In another study by Attaran, Zein Abadi and Tulaby (2009) “relationships between supervisor and students toward PhD. thesis”, they have found that more than 50% of PhD. learners were unhappy with their supervisors and on the other hand, if the level of satisfaction from (happiness with) supervisors increases, the students’ relationship with their supervisors becomes more satisfactory; it must be mentioned that there is a positive relationship between the quality and efficiency of thesis with the students’ satisfaction regarding their relationship with their supervisors. This paper was done by an integration of two methods i.e. qualitative and quantitative methods. At first, by studying the related literature and interviews with the supervisors or professors who had experiences in completing thesis and also interviews with PhD. students, 20 indices or indicators as the criteria of a desirable relationship between supervisors and students were extracted, the most important ones are: easy access of students to the supervisors, the assistance of supervisors in order to compile and edit the previous literature and the other parts (Attaran et al., 2009). The aim of another paper by Fathivajargah, Arefi and Jalilinia (2009) was to recognize and study the hidden curriculum in M.A. theses in Shahid Beheshti University. Based on the definition of Portly (1993) toward hidden curriculum, four main dimensions were defined in order to shape and design the hidden curriculum of thesis. They are presented in the following:

Hidden curriculum as the informal expectation except expected plans in the thesis;

Hidden curriculum resulted from the unintended learning(s);

Hidden curriculum resulted from thesis structure; and

Hidden curriculum by students

The present qualitative paper was done using an ethnography method and it was conducted on 20 students (in M.A. degree) in three groups of (A): Human Science, (B): Engineering and Technical Sciences and (C): Basic Sciences by the researcher. The related findings which were obtained by using various qualitative tools such as autobiography, observation, image or pictures, semi-structured interviews and the content analysis done by the researcher indicate that the students gained negative and positive experiences during the time of writing thesis.(Fathivajargah, 2009) Stevenson & Evans (2009) reviewed the related studies of the relationship between students and supervisors during 1990-2009 and found that the quality of experiences resulted from these relationships was affected by these factors: 1- the clarity of expectations and 2- the level of support of supervisors from their students. Vilkinas (2008) in a study on 25 supervisors in Ireland has found that the supervisors use 6 styles in guiding the students: -

Developer (participating the student in making decisions toward their thesis);

Deliverer (determining and delivering the expected results to the students);

Monitor (continuous monitoring on the performance of students through reviewing their work);

Broker (establishing the communicative network between students and the other social sources);

Innovator (creative ideas about thesis);

Integrator (taking the desirable response toward the created situations in guiding the thesis).

Bradbury et al. (2007) studied the communicative process between students and supervisors by using critical discourse analysis. Based on his viewpoint, the evolution process was associated with features such as responsibility and

independence; also the center of control and relationships is gradually being changed from supervisors toward the students. He defined this gradual independency as “weaning the babies. The related study from the hidden curriculum in higher education was done by Margolis et al., in 2001 in which the factors such as educational counseling, relationships of supervisors and students and the role of professional learning(s) in re-producing the social inequalities were studied. One of the most important parts of this project was to study the relationship between supervisors and students which was conducted by Sandra Acker, who extensively studied the hidden curriculum within the relationships of supervisors and students in USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The results show that these relationships are under the effect of factors such as the culture of major, the culture of educational group, the rules for accepting students, gender and the unequal position of supervisor and students in the organizational hierarchy of universities (Margolis, Eric et al., 2001). Tawnsend (1996) in a case study studied the structural elements which result into a hidden curriculum in the High Education, and pointed out that elements such as social structure of a class, the authority of supervisors, the governed rules on the relationships between supervisors and students and also the structural obstacles within universities are playing a role in the formation of hidden curriculum in the Higher Education. Based on his viewpoint, if the support networks and their rules do not exist in the universities for selecting the supervisors and the manner of their relationships with the students, therefore, the rule of “Survival of the Fittest” will be governed and everyone tries to guarantee his / her position by using the availabilities.

2. Methods and Materials This paper was done during the academic year 2011-2012. In this paper, all universities of Iran which have access to the acceptance conditions of PhD. students and the students who have passed their research course in PhD. degree were interviewed. In this paper all students of state and non-state (Azad) universities were participated and all participants were graduates of PhD. degree. This paper is a qualitative study and 54 individuals were interviewed. Of 54 participants in this study, 35, 15 and 4 individuals were from the state universities of Science and Technology Ministry, Medical Sciences Universities and Islamic Azad Universities of Iran in different educational majors, respectively. The researcher interviewed with the participants directly and in-depth for 8 months, and

to complete the interviews for studying their experiences research course, telephone and e-mails were used during the research course. The sampling was based on purposeful sampling selected as a logical sampling method of phenomenological studies. In this paper, Typical Case Sampling (one of the kinds of purposeful sampling) was used. The instrument was semi-structured interview. The extracted findings and information were analyzed through classifying the interviews, making prominent the main cases/points, organizing the documents, interviews, and interpreting the information. In data analysis, coding method was used; it means after doing the interviews with the informants (as these interviews were recorded by the recording system) and transcribing them, Open Coding (such as reading the lines based on data lines, extracting the main sentences and concepts, forming the principle categories) and Axial Coding (classifying data, determining the sub-classes, forming the final classes) were done. In order to examine the validity of research instruments, the researcher sent the guideline form of interview to 5 professional professors during the research course and asked their idea about the selected questions in this form, after receiving their feedback and revising some questions, the researcher used this form to complete the interview. To assure the validity of data and results, the following measures were done. In order to make sure about the validity of coding(s) and the named categories by the researcher, they were sent to two researchers for review, and then by using the viewpoints of these two researchers, the final categories were formed. These final categories were presented to the interviewees and their ideas were asked. Their responses indicated that these categories and the extracted results are relatively accurate reflections of their viewpoints. Also in this paper, in order to measure the reliability of this study, the method of kirk & Miller as the Noting Rules was used.

3. Results One of the main problems of students is to select their supervisor during their research course. This issue is one of the serious problems for PhD. students as the researchers must consider and pay attention to their implications in spite of the above mentioned points in the instructions and the regulation of universities. Based on several studies and the results obtained from interviews with 54 graduate students in this paper, 12 secondary themes were found as the effective hidden factors on selecting the supervisors, which are classified into other subgroups: 3.1 Ethical and Behavioral Characteristics ÂŠ 2015 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

The ethical and behavioral characteristics of professors were one the most important criteria that the interviewees considered for selecting their supervisor. The interviewees will access to these characteristics within different situations such as classes, university campuses, and professorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; offices and also the situations outside the universities. Within these situations, the professors themselves will show certain behaviors to different individuals among their students. Based on the interviews in this paper, it is possible to determine the behavioral characteristics through three ways as: -

How to behave with the colleagues;

How to behave with the students and

How to behave with the individuals outside the university

3.2 Executive Position In some interviews, the interviewees selected their supervisors due to his/her major executive position in the university. They believed that by selecting this person (such as the head of university and faculty) as their supervisors, they will find access to an indirect power and nobody will reject their views and if a fault is observed in their works, all of the instructors and professors will ignore it and they will be more cautious when giving a mark to these students. The interviewee named H.A. stated that: I preferred, at first, to select a supervisor who had a major position in the university because the experience of my M.A. course proved this issue for me and due to its significance, I successfully passed my thesis course. [Interviewee no.: 23]. 3.3 Scientific Position In all interviews, it became clear that all interviewees paid more attention to the scientific position of their supervisors in their PhD. course as they used any situation in order to select a supervisor who had a high scientific degree and possessed more articles, books, etc. Certainly, in the universities of Iran, the number of these supervisors is less and it is not possible for all PhD. students who want to pass this stage of their education completely. Based on the view of S.Z. about his/her supervisor: â&#x20AC;Ś in our university, there was only a supervisor who received his/her professor position and others were assistant professors and they did not have access to an international degree; for this reason,

this professor can only accept the thesis of one PhD. student and the other students cannot …[Interviewee no.: 43]. 3.4 Being Famous and Well-Known Based on the interviews, it became clear and obvious that most PhD. students prefer to select a supervisor who is a well-known professor and when someone asked them who is your supervisor, they showed the cover of their thesis and replied that Professor … proudly. Some students are proud of a professor who is well-known and they could not hide their happiness. In this case, H.M. 'graduate of educational management' said: … the fame and credit of a supervisor was so important for me, […] when someone asked me who your supervisor is, I replied Professor X, loudly and proudly. I liked to hear the feeling of others to this issue or see his / her name in my article and the other things …. [Interviewee no.: 50]. 3.5 Access to the Supervisor All PhD. students request their supervisors to help them in completing their thesis in spite of their problems and they (PhD. students) want to have access to them (supervisors) easily until they can solve their problems. Based on the related interviews, it became clear that PhD. students are in contact with their supervisors in three ways: e-mail, phones and face to face interaction. M.Sh. (interviewee of general psychology) stated that: … when I required the assistance of my supervisors, it was possible for me to have a meeting with him/her and nothing was useful for me except having a face to face contact, because I think he/she reads my work accurately and also I can observe my work, my problems, … carefully. [Interviewee no.: 48]. The other PhD. graduate in industry engineering from [X] university stated that: … issues such as studies outside country, internal and foreign conferences or seminars of my supervisor were not useful for me because accessing to him / her was not possible for me. [Interviewee no.: 9]. 3.6 Proficiency in Research and Statistics Based on the related interviews, it became clear that each PhD. student prefers to select a supervisor who has proficiency in the study, research and statistics and also can help in different fields of study. A.S. a graduate in philosophy from [X] university stated that: … [Oh] my supervisor did not have enough information

about the method of my study and for this reason, I asked other ones in order to help me … [Interviewee no.: 41]. 3.7 Skill in an Especial Scientific Field Having skill and knowledge in an especial field is the other factor mentioned and considered by some PhD. interviewees in order to select a supervisor. Sometimes, a student has an interest in an especial field but all professors do not have any knowledge about it or they did not do any such study or this is not their educational major, therefore these students must select someone who has information about this topic as their supervisor. In this field, one of the interviewees who was a pediatrics student stated that: […] I looked for a supervisor who has information about a rare disease among children, although there are prominent professors in our faculty, they did not do any scientific study about this disease; due to this reason, I decided to ask the other professor named B.A., who worked in field of rare diseases in children, to cooperate with me and guide me in completing this work … [interviewee no.: 2]. 3.8 Limitations in Selecting a Supervisor Based on the obtained data from these interviews, their limitations in selecting a supervisor were grouped into three categories as: -

The direct force of educational group and faculty,

The indirect force of educational group and faculty,

The force and persistence of faculty’s professors.

* The Direct Force of Educational Group and Faculty In some cases, the faculties inhibit the students from selecting a supervisor directly; hence, the faculty of their educational group imposes an especial supervisor; it means that they deprive the students from this right (to select the supervisor). An interviewee who was graduated in Electric Engineering (in PhD. degree) stated that: […] selecting the supervisor during our educational course was same as this way… the student was being invited to an interview after passing the written test, then, based on his/her interest to the intended subject of the professor and also the interest of professor to his/her acceptance, the name of student was registered as a person who got accepted, so the supervisor was being chosen from the beginning of

PhD. course based on the view of university. ... We did not have any right in this regard. [Interviewee no.: 21]. * The Indirect Force of Educational Group and Faculty Based on the views of some interviewees, the force and imposition of universities or faculties on the students is indirect; which means that occasionally, the students are being put in some situations as they are deprived from their freedom to select their supervisors and finally they must accept the viewpoint of educational group and faculty. An interviewee named F.Z. said: … [I] know why they did not accept my thesis, [it was my supervisor who was not from our faculty and university] … I decided to select my supervisor someone who is in our city since my university was far away of my city but the university rejected this view [although he was a well-known professor] and asked me to change the title of my thesis; … it was clear that the main reason was not the title of my thesis but my supervisor. [Interviewee no.: 37]. * The Force and Persistence of Faculty Professors Based on the view of some interviewees, sometime the students are put in some situations that they have to select their supervisor by force; for example, the students are being forced to select someone as a supervisor without any interest to him or her because they are friends with each other, they know each other or he (she) was his (her ) supervisor during the M.A. course and sometimes, the professors ask their students to select them as their supervisors due to some reason such as giving them best marks. In this case, an interviewee stated that; […] when I spoke with him (the supervisor) about my proposal, it resulted into an ending that I selected him as my supervisor. Although I hid myself from him, he asked about my work from my friends and sent me a message to work with him. Therefore, I selected him by force. [Interviewee no.: 52]. Based on the viewpoints of most participants, you may be put in a situation to be forced to select a supervisor although you are not interested to work with him / her. 3.9 Senior Students Usually, the students try hard to find the required information for selecting a supervisor such as informal networks of senior students or friends. For example, F.R. the specialist of emergency medicine [Interviewee no.: 1]: A.L. PhD. in physiology [Interviewee no.: 28]; M.M. PhD. in medical microbiology [Interviewee

no.: 27]; H.SH and F.S. PhD. in Pedology [Interviewee no.: 44-45]; A.S. PhD. in especial pharmacology [Interviewee no.: 33]; etc. used the views of friends and former students among other methods in order to select their supervisor. A.S. PhD. in pharmacology [regarding selecting a supervisor though senior students] stated that: […] based on the viewpoints of senior students, if you select R.F. professor for your thesis, he does not read your thesis and you can copy and paste some points as a whole thesis, and in addition, he writes your proposal – it is better to select M.S. professor … all of his works are as the same as the others, … if you are in a laboratory for 10-15 days, it is enough! all of students and colleagues are afraid of him and they do not ask you questions – pharmacology group is very good, you kill 20 mice and change the previous marks of thesis; … when you are graduated, the instructors and supervisors publish your article and their ranking will change into a professor – [Oh] the head of our faculty participates in all seminars and conferences … [Interviewee no.: 33]. The above mentioned points refer to other factors for selecting a supervisor which was considered by the interviewees. 3.10 Gender The finding of this paper shows that most supervisors for completing the PhD. works are male and the females' role is less in this field. As a result, the supervisors of most theses are male. Based on the whole interviews about the gender, of 40 interviews, 35 thesis projects were under the guidance of male supervisors. In addition, the interviewees pointed out the gender difference (inconsistency) between supervisor and student and they considered it as problem; but they believe that the gender similarity between supervisor and student leads into a convenient discussion, easiness in various travels, meeting with the university colleagues, providing facilities in typing and publishing the articles and the other issues. One of the interviewees in PhD. urban planning stated that: […] the female supervisor is a great endowment although they are few in number in our universities and also their opportunities … [Interviewee no.: 43]. F.Q. stated that: […] all professors were men but if the number of female supervisors were more, I would certainly select a male supervisor because I have a good feeling with them; … the female supervisors are hardworking, more serious toward works and also they are strict [Interviewee no.: 25]. In accordance with the aforementioned points, it became clear that most students are very serious regarding selecting their supervisor and their gender and also they

consider it as a criterion during their research course; in this regard, a study was done by Margolis (2001) on the relationship and cooperation of supervisors with the students (based on their gender) and he mentioned gender as one of the effective factors on such relationships [Margolis, 2001]. 3.11 Supportive Ability of Supervisors In general, all students who take step in the research course (before the proposal acceptance) are seeking a capable supervisor who guides them in order to complete their thesis, defend them in the defense session and also support them. A.A. PhD. in mechanics [Interviewee no.: 18], M.Sh. PhD. in general psychology [Interviewee no.: 48]; M.J. PhD. in criminal rights and sociology [Interviewee no.: 34] believed that the supervisor must be able to defend their students. A.A. said that: [â&#x20AC;Ś] M.Z. supervisor defended and supported one of the senior students in a way that I was surprised. [Interviewee no.: 18]. 3.12 Futurism (Anticipating the Future) In some interviews, it became clear that most interviewees selected their supervisors in order to have a good job in the future, and do most of their research projects with them and also participate in publishing different scientific books; in addition, some others expected a good communication with the global scientific society through their supervisors. Certainly, some students would ask their supervisors to employ them in the universities or be their references in order to have a good job. H.KH. specialist in emergency medicine said that: one of the reasons [for me] to select a supervisor is that I find access to a good executive position in the ministry because my supervisor was in contact with the authority individuals or characters. [Interviewee no.: 1].

4. Discussion Since experience is a description of a real situation, it includes a decision and its effect on a problem, opportunity or an especial subject. Therefore, the previous experiences are not excluded from this norm and in fact, it is a description of that period in which the individuals face a complex problem and they are forced to make a decision. So, the obtained results from the experiences of PhD. students in order to select a supervisor were presented as following. This paper showed that the students did not have access to accurate information for selecting their supervisor during their research course in PhD. degree and they related this issue to some points such as the negligence of students in order to select

a supervisor, lack of skillful supervisors in an especial field and also the persistence of universities for selecting a supervisor from their own universities. The students did not know which factors are effective on selecting a supervisor and how they can communicate with their supervisors in order to solve their problems easily. Also this paper pointed out the selection of supervisors as imposed directly or indirectly from the universities on the students. Other points which were considered by the students for selecting a supervisor indirectly are as the following: -

Behavior and ethics of supervisors,

Executive position;

Having knowledge in an especial scientific field;

Futurism (anticipating the future) in order to have a good job in a near future by using the knowledge of supervisors;

Access to the supervisor without any intermediation;

High scientific capacity of supervisors in the field of statistics and research;

Selecting the supervisor based on gender;

The supportive ability of supervisors in order to defend the students and

Asking the views of senior students.

5. Conclusion The results of this paper are consistent with the results of other papers which studied the effective role of supervisors during the research course [Heinrich, 1991; Conrad and Phillips, 1995; Donald et al., 1995; Margolis, 2001; Drysdale, 2003, Fazeli, 2004, Attaran, 2009]. Furthermore, the results showed that among all effective factors on the research course, selecting the supervisor has a considerable effect on facilitating the trend of research course and its final quality. This finding is in relation with the study of these researchers: Ives & Rowley, 2005; Lindgreen et al., 2002; Ray, 2007; and Grevholm et al., 2005. In fact, more satisfaction of students from their supervisor makes their relationships with their supervisors more desirable which affect the research course indirectly. Regarding the ethical considerations, first a session was held for introducing the researcher and the research. In this session the participants were informed that they can leave the meeting at any time they felt unwilling to cooperate without any

explanation, and their information will remain confidential. Finally the study approved by ethics committee consist of professors. REFERENCES Attaran, M. Zeinabadi, H . Tulaby, HR. (2009) Relationship between supervisor and doctoral student in the writing of a case study. Presented at the Eighth Annual Conference of the Association for Curriculum Studies. Journal of Higher Education Curriculum Studies. Tabriz University. 1(1):9-37. [In Persian]. Bradbury, J. et al. (2007). “Unity and Detachment: A Discourse Analysis of Doctoral Supervision”. In International Journal of Qualitative Methods Conrad, L., & Phillips, E. (1995). From isolation to collaboration: A positive change for postgraduate women? Higher Education, 30, 313- 322 Donald, J. Saroyan, A. & Denison, B.D. (1995). Graduate Student Supervision Policies and Procedures: A Case Study of Issues and Factors Affecting Graduate Study. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 25(3) 71-92. Drysdale, M. T. B. (2003). Dyad Interdependence: An Examination of the Student/Supervisor Relationship in Graduate Education. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Psychological Association (64th, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, June 12-14). Eisner, E. (1995). Educational Imagination; onthe Design and Evaluation on school program, Macmillan college publishing company, NewYork Evans, C. & Stevenson. (2009). “The learning experiences of international doctoral students with particular reference to nursing students: A literature review”. In Int. J. Nurs. Stud Fathivajargah K.( 2007). The identity of the new curriculum. Tehran, Abyzh,75-81 [In Persian] FathiVajargah K, Arefi M, JaliliNiya F . (2009), Hidden curriculum involved in graduate thesis at Shahid Beheshti University . Journal of Higher Education Curriculum Studies. Behashtiuniversity . 1(1):96- 118 [In Persian] Fazeli, N. (2003). Adaptive study on the causes of ineffective teaching in the university. A letter of anthropology..1(3),93-132 Ghoorchian, NG. (2010). Analysis of the hidden curriculum, a new discussion of the education system in unknown dimensions. Vbrnamhryzy Journal of Education. 1:68-48.[In Persian] Grevholm, B. Persson, LE. & Peter, W. (2005). A Dynamic Model for Doctoral Students and Guidance of Supervisors in Research Groups. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 60(2), 173-17 Heinrich, K. T. (1991). Loving partnerships: Dealing with sexual attraction and power in doctoral advisement relationships. Journal of Higher Education, 62(5), 514-538. Ives, G., & Rowley, G. (2005). Supervisor selection or allocation and continuity of supervision: Ph.D. students' progress and outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 30(5), 535-556

Lindgreen, A. Palmer, R. Vanhamme, J. & Beverland, M. (2002). Finding and Choosing a Supervisor. The Marketing Review, 3(2/1), 147-166. Maleki, H. (2012). curriculumDivelopment (action).Mashhad: Mensaje Pensamient. 84-88[In Persian] Margolis, E. and et al (2001). “Hiding and Outing the Curriculum”. In The Hidden Curriculum in Higher Education. London: Rutledge Margolis, E. (2003). The Hidden Curriculum in Higher Education; Routledge; New York and London Mehrmohamadi, M. (2008). Curriculum. perspective, approaches and visions advice. Mashhad: Razavi Press. 464-73 [In Persian] Ray, S. (2007). Selecting a Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor: Analytical Hierarchy Approach to the Multiple Criteria Problem. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2, 23-32. Safaeemovahed, S. Attaran, M.(.2013). M.Uncovering The hidden curriculum of supervisors section in a faculty of Mathematics :a qualitative study:2(12).1-12 Tonkaboni, F.(2015). Comparison of hidden Learning of Students in Azad and State Universities in Academic Interactions from the Perspective of Students, Journal of Global Research in Education and Social Science, 2(1): 37-44 Vilkinas, T. (2008). “An Exploratory Study of the Supervision of PhD. / Research Students’ Theses”. In InnovHighEdu. 32,297-311. Yarmohammadian, M H. (2007). the principles of curriculum. Tehran. Memorial Book . 1831[In Persian]

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 43-58, March 2015

Lessons Learned from Teaching Teachers how to Teach about World Religions Derek Anderson, Holly Mathys and Joe Lubig Northern Michigan University Marquette, Michigan, USA Abstract. This quasi-experimental comparative case study compared 22 elementary pre-service teachers‟ (PSTs‟) 7th-grade lessons on world religions to the lessons developed and taught by a cohort of 26 PSTs. The PSTs from Cohort 1 received no instruction or course readings related to teaching about world religions; whereas, the PSTs from Cohort 2 were assigned six articles to read and spent one hour of in-class time learning about teaching world religions. Lesson plans, teaching observations, focus group interviews, and reflection journals served as data sources, which were coded for core themes. Classical content analysis was used to tabulate incidents of PST behaviors related to the core themes. PSTs from Cohort 1 exhibited greater lack of knowledge and awareness of world religious, used biased language, lacked solemnity and sensitivity, made more assumptions and generalizations, and even exhibited outright promotion of Christianity. This study suggests that elementary social studies teacher educators, by spending only an hour of methods class time on the topic, can help their PSTs to avoid common missteps in their teaching about world religions. Keywords: World Religions; Teacher Education; Field Experiences; Elementary Education

1. Introduction “Diversities relevant for pedagogical missions transcend demographic traits and include less discernible, but equally consequential, differences in ideological perspectives, social class, values, religious beliefs, and the like” (Tienda, 2013, p. 471) Nearly all states include world religions in their social studies standards, typically at the upper elementary or middle-school level (Douglas, 2000). Recently, a collaboration of 15 professional organizations working on national social studies standards released The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (www.socialstudies.org/c3). The C3 Framework is part of the Common

Core Standards movement, which despite ongoing controversy, has been adopted by more than 40 states. Unlike previous national and state curriculum frameworks, the C3 Framework does not specify the teaching of world religions, but neither does it specify the teaching of any topics, including particular wars or time periods. Instead, The C3 Framework is centered on an Inquiry Arc. By focusing on inquiry, the framework emphasizes the disciplinary concepts and practices that support students as they develop the capacity to know, analyze,

explain, and argue about interdisciplinary challenges in our social world. (p. 6) Throughout the C3 Framework, world religions is included in suggested examples for teaching boundaries and conflict, diffusion, socializing agents, and limits of government. Understanding world religions is integral to the rise in globalization and is still very much a necessary element of schools‟ social studies curricula. “One‟s education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion” (School District of Abington Township, PA v. Schemp, 1963).

2. Purpose of the Study Globalization, curricular pressures, and general consensus compel teachers to teach students about world religions (Anderson, 2004; Passe & Wilcox, 2009). Consequently, if learning about world religions helps to foster tolerant and knowledgeable students who can reason intellectually about world events, our schools must have teachers who are competent at teaching world religions (Wexler, 2002). Furthermore, if we desire effective classroom teachers of world religions, we must adequately prepare new teachers for the task. Despite the consensus among social studies educators that world religion should have a place in the curriculum, there is little published research on how teachers actually approach the topic and even less research on how PSTs learn about teaching world religions. A need exists to learn more about how emerging teachers plan for and deliver lessons on world religions. What‟s more, it is imperative that teacher educators better understand how to prepare teachers for a curriculum and society that demands young people who comprehend the history of world religions and their role in the world today. This study is a follow-up to a previous study (Anderson, Cook, & Mathys, 2013) that investigated how 22 elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) at a mid-sized Midwestern public university designed and taught lessons on world religions to 7thgrade students. This paper compares those PSTs with a subsequent PST cohort whose elementary social studies methods course addressed the findings from the initial study. In contrast to the first cohort, the 26 PSTs in Cohort 2 were provided with specific readings and guidance on how to teach about world religions. This

study sought to determine if designating a nominal amount of time during a methods course specifically toward addressing the teaching of world religions would impact the PSTs‟ Christian bias, lack of solemnity, and preparedness for student questions and comments.

3. Teaching About Religion Religion‟s place in public schools has been both contested and established. Issues like school prayer, teachers‟ and students‟ expression of their religious beliefs, religious artwork and signage, as well as preferential treatment of student religious organizations are just some of the disputes related to the Establishment Clause, which requires separation between church and state. On the other hand, the courts, as well as professional education organizations, have long maintained that teaching about religion should be part of the standard public education curriculum. Institutions serve a vital role in society, and religion is arguably the most influential institution in history. The National Council for the Social Studies (2009) recommended that schools teach students how institutions were formed, extended, governed, and changed over time. Guidelines for teaching about religion issued in 1995 by the US Secretary of Education noted that the institution of religion may be studied from historical, comparative, literary, and artistic perspectives. Passe and Willox (2009) recommended that social studies teachers take an anthropological approach to teaching about world religions, with an emphasis on comparative religion in order to promote global harmony and economic progress. Others have suggested that religion can be used as a springboard for teaching about past indiscretions such as nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism (Risinger, 1993). Despite the potential for study of world religions to provide students with insight into our cultural differences and common values, the topic receives scant coverage in US classrooms. One reason is that social studies has become marginalized over the past decade due to increased emphasis on mathematics and English-Language Arts (Anderson, Cook, & Mathys, 2014; Boyle-Baise, Hsu, Johnnson, Sierrere, & Stewart, 2008; Burroughs, Groce, & Webeck, 2005; Center on Education Policy, 2008; Good et al., 2010; Leming, Ellington, & Schug, 2006a, 2006b; Lintner, 2006; Rock et al., 2006). More specifically, mandatory testing in math and ELA has implored teachers in states without standardized tests in social studies to spend substantially less time on social studies instruction (Au, 2009; Fitchett & Heafner, 2010; Heafner, Lipscomb, & Rock, 2006; Wills, 2007). Another reason why so many teachers choose to avoid the subject is simply that teaching about religion is hard. Teachers are expected to remain neutral and unbiased, while also tolerating their students‟ varied religious views, including students‟ right to express their religious beliefs in their writing, art, and other school work (Black, 2003). Teaching about religion must be academic and in no way

devotional, yet a daily glance at the news will reveal tensions between teachers‟ free-exercise claims and violations of the Establishment Clause. From teaching Intelligent Design in science classes to teaching the Bible as historical fact, teachers commonly struggle to balance personal ideologies with constitutional obligations (Schaeffer & Mincberg, 2000). Researchers have uncovered a number of missteps teachers make in teaching about religion, though separating missteps caused by lack of teacher knowledge from those stemming from teacher bias is not easy (Anderson et al., 2013). Ample research suggests teachers‟ knowledge of religions is insufficient (Anderson et al., 2014; Oldendorf & Green, 2005; Prothero, 2007; Ribak-Rosenthal & Kane, 1999; Subedi, 2006; Waggoner, 2013). Lack of knowledge not only keeps teachers from teaching the subject, it often leads to improper or insensitive treatment of world religions. Religious illiteracy is not only widespread, it “fuels prejudice and antagonism” (Moore, 2010, p. i). Often teachers‟ biggest mistakes in teaching about religion come not from acute classroom incidents but rather from grand curricular oversights where teachers are left with such limited time to teach about each world religion that students gain only ephemeral perspectives on each religion replete with stereotypes, oversimplifications, and the impression that religions are ancient relics (Douglass, 2002). What‟s more, teachers often exhibit syncretism, or the combining of multiple religious beliefs and practices, often with the intent of promoting inclusion (Passe & Willox, 2009). Despite their best intentions to show students that many of them share similar existential and philosophical beliefs, teachers should focus on awareness of others‟ religions, though not necessarily acceptance (Douglass, 2002).

4. Teaching How to Teach About World Religions Even though world religions is well-established in state and national standards for social studies, teachers tend to avoid the topic (Black, 2003; Evans, 2007, 2008; Graves, Hynes, & Hughes, 2010; Oldendorf & Green, 2005; Passe & Wilcox, 2009; Wexler, 2002; Zam & Stone, 2006). PSTs‟ lack attention to world religions is attributed to their lack of knowledge (Ayers & Reid, 2005), as well as to their lack of preparation from their university coursework (Douglas, 2001). Overall, it appears as though elementary and middle school teachers are ill-equipped to teach about world religions (Passe, & Wilcox, 2009). The type and number of methods courses offered by teacher education programs vary widely, nearly all of which merely scratch the surface of what teacher educators would like to cover as they help to prepare future teachers. Social studies methods instructors, like teacher educators in other disciplines, lack the desired time to teach their curriculum thoroughly. Arguably, social studies methods courses have even more relative scarcity of time compared with other content areas since “social studies” encompasses four pillars: history, geography, civics, and economics. Consequently, it is likely that PSTs will not receive specific instruction on teaching

world religions during their methods courses. What‟s more, the vast majority (94% of 342) of social studies teacher educators reported that they should not include the topic of teaching about world religions in their social studies methods courses (Zam & Stone, 2006). In short, teachers are not likely to be taught how to teach world religions during their teacher education nor are they likely to see colleagues teaching world religions effectively, if at all, throughout their careers.

5. Methods 5.1 Background of the Field Experience The PSTs in this study were in their final semester prior to student teaching. As part of a field-intensive undergraduate cohort model, the PSTs were required to work in teams to create and deliver lessons to classrooms of public 7th-grade students over a four-day period. Each PST was the lead teacher for at least one lesson in each subject. This study focused on the PSTs‟ social studies lessons. As this field experience has become enculturated for both our teacher education program and our partner middle school over the past several years, the cooperating teachers have identified the specific Grade-Level Content Expectations, or standards, they want the PSTs to teach each semester. For each Fall semester over the past few years, the cooperating teachers have assigned our PSTs to teach three (of the 83 total) standards related to world religions, which fall under the following theme: “Explain how world religions or belief systems of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism and Islam grew and their significance” (http://michigan.gov/documents/mde/SSGLCE_218368_7.pdf (p. 62). Incidentally, conversations with the cooperating teachers have revealed that they have asked the PSTs to teach those particular content standards because they would rather not teach world religions themselves. 5.2 Comparing Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 This quasi-experimental comparative case study compared how two cohorts of PSTs taught lessons on world religions. The cohorts, who participated in the field experience in successive semesters, were demographically similar; and, with the exception of instruction on teaching world religions, both cohorts learned the same curriculum during the course. The comparative case study allowed us to examine the PSTs in an authentic context, using multiple forms of data to increase the breadth and depth of our understanding (Merriam, 2009; Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994). By observing developing teachers practice their craft of whole-classroom teaching and by interviewing them about their experiences afterward, we were able to gain thorough and holistic insights. Case studies allow for a detailed and contextual analysis (Cohen, Manion,

& Morrison, 2011). When teaching can be studied in authentic classroom contexts, richer description and analyses are possible (Yin, 1994). As described in an early paper (Anderson et al., 2013) on the lesson planning, teaching actions, and reflections of the 22 PSTs from Cohort 1, very little time or direction was given to the PSTs during their social studies methods course in order to help them teach world religions to 7th-grade students. There several reasons why course time was not designated to preparing PSTs for the task. In a grand sense, the three-credit elementary social studies methods course leaves too little time to address most social studies topics PSTs will teach when they become in-service teachers. Second, the methods course contains several field experiences, so time spent in preparation for those episodes would come at a cost of having to reduce the number of field experiences. Third, the course is designed to focus on teaching K-8 social studies generally, integrating the four pillars of history, economics, geography, and civics. Finally, it is important to note that the course is a methods course, not a content course. Accordingly, course concepts include pedagogical skills such as writing objectives, differentiating, scaffolding, higher-order questioning, and assessment. After studying how the Cohort 1 PSTs planned, delivered, assessed, and reflected on their world religions lessons, we wanted to see if providing another Cohort‟s PSTs with some guidance about teaching world religions might reduce their number of missteps. Time constraints were still a barrier, so we limited Cohort 2‟s instruction about the teaching of world religions to one hour of class time and one hour of assigned outside-of-class reading. First, the 26 PSTs from Cohort 2 (12 and 14 PSTs per section) were assigned to spend 60 minutes reading from a list of six articles about teaching world religions (see Appendix 1 for links to the six articles). The PSTs were then asked to come to next week‟s class with three “take-aways” and one question derived from reading the articles. During the following week‟s class, 20 minutes were allocated to PSTs working in groups of 3-4 to share their take-aways and questions. Next, 10 minutes were allocated for whole-class discussion. Finally, we spent approximately 30 minutes going through a PowerPoint presentation of our initial study, complete with findings and recommendations. 5.3 Data For Cohort 1 we collected an exorbitant amount of data, including pre- and postinterviews of the PSTs‟ lesson-plans, one or more lesson observations of each PST, their students‟ written work, their reflection papers, and post-teaching focus-group discussions. For Cohort 2, we (in conjunction with three other faculty members) observed each PST teach at least one social studies lesson. Each observer was given a list of the common errors made by the PSTs from Cohort 1 (see Table 1). Observers were

directed foremost to look for incidents of the PSTs making similar errors and to document those instances on a form provided. Additionally, we lead post-lesson focus group interviews with the PSTs, and we analyzed their required reflection papers. Our primary data source consisted of our observations of the PSTsâ&#x20AC;&#x; lessons, and we used a phenomenological approach to situate the researchers as participant observers (Moustakas, 1994). Because the observers were themselves experienced teachers and certainly harbored their own personal religious beliefs in some form, we used note taking, member checks, and iterative conversations to bracket our assumptions and to challenge each other about our suppositions and interpretations (Cresswell, 2012; Merriam, 2009). The common missteps identified from the previous study served as first-cycle codes from which we sought to develop further conceptual understanding through second-cycle coding methods (Saldana, 2009). Using the core themes from the initial study, we tabulated the frequency of PST incidents of each theme using classical content analysis (Titscher et al., 2000). Next, we associated each corresponding incident with its text excerpt. Finally, we used elaborative coding to refine and expand on our preconceived constructs until all of the PSTsâ&#x20AC;&#x; actions, comments, and reflections were represented a theme or subtheme (Auerbarch & Silverstein, 2003).

6. Results Through this study we sought to determine if PSTs who received a small amount of specific instruction and readings about teaching world religions exhibited fewer mistakes in their lessons when compared with a previous cohort of PSTs who received no specific instruction on teaching world religions. A previous study (Anderson et al., 2013) found that PSTs from Cohort 1 used biased language, made assumptions and generalizations, and lacked solemnity and sensitivity. Furthermore, those PSTs failed to explain to their students that the topic of religion stemmed from mandated state content standards. Students in Cohort 2, however, portrayed far fewer of the behaviors of their predecessors (see Table 1). Table 1. Incidents of Religious Insensitivity Incident: Language Subtleties

Fall 2012 25

Fall 2013 6

Assumptions Generalizing Lack of Solemnity Lack of Awareness/Sensitivity Proselytizing

10 10 8 3 2

1 2 1 0 0

6.1 Language Subtleties The most common incidents of religious awareness for Cohort 1 were the most subtle. We counted 25 incidents of PSTs making slight, yet distinct verbal differences between how they referred to Christians and how they referred to nonChristians. The PSTs regularly prefaced their references to religious adherents with “Followers of . . .” for non-Christians but did not for Christians. For example, one PST said, “Followers of Judaism use a religious text called the Torah.” That same PST went on to say, “Christians have the Bible.” During the second cohort‟s lessons, however, we observed only 6 incidents of PSTs referring to Christians differently from non-Christians. The PSTs regularly used the plural proper names such “Hindus” and “Buddhists”. Interestingly, all six of the incidents from Cohort 2 under this category involved PSTs‟ failure to use the term, “Jews” when they referred to other religious adherents accordingly. For example, in one lesson on religious symbols, a PST asked, “Who can tell me what the Hindu symbol is called that represents the three worlds, the three major gods, and the three scriptures?” Later in the lesson, the PST asked, “Who can tell me one of the main symbols of Judaism?” During post-teaching debriefing sessions, the PSTs commented on how maintaining language consistency was difficult for them. One PST commented, “I remember from the PowerPoint in class about how last year‟s group only used “Christians” but not the other religions‟ regular names, and I wanted to make sure I didn‟t do that, but it was hard.” One PST addressed specifically her discomfort over using, „Jews‟: “I can‟t really explain it, but I have such a hard time saying „Jews‟.” 6.2 Outright Assumptions Cohort 1 made a number of presumptive statements related to students‟ knowledge of Christianity. For example, PSTs made statements like, “You guys know a lot about Christianity, right?” and, “You already know a lot about this.” Our observations of Cohort 2 revealed only one such incident, a PST who, when going over a timeline of the six religions, stated, “Well this one will be easy for you: When did Christianity begin?” Related to this theme was the prevalence of 7th-grade students who made Christiancentric comments and the PSTs‟ general disregard of those comments. For example, during the first year, one PST was showing a short online video about the diffusion of religion when several students cheered as the geographic footprint of Christianity grew. In her post interview, the PST recognized the students‟ bias but dismissed their actions as normal, stating, “It‟s just what they know.” In several other instances with Cohort 1, we observed students dominating class discussion with information about Christianity while the PSTs did not limit their comments, which clearly created a Christian-dominant atmosphere. During year 2, students still attempted to share information and biblical stories, but the PSTs were, for the most part, willing and able to limit conversation and to keep student comments directly

on topic. During a focus group interview with PSTs from Cohort 2, one PST remarked, “I am glad we learned how to stop kids from rambling, and not just because of talking so much about Christianity, but in general. That‟s a good skill to use when kids ramble about anything.” 6.3 Generalizing PSTs lack content knowledge about world religions (Anderson et al., 2013, 2014; Ennis, 1994; Oldendorf & Green, 2005; Subedi, 2006). Associated with that lack of knowledge is a corresponding lack of nuance, which often presents through stereotyping and generalization. Because many PSTs know little about religions other than Christianity, they often make generalized statements about followers of other religions. For example, at least 10 times a PST from Cohort 1 made blanket statements like, “Buddhists meditate” and “Followers of Hinduism don‟t eat meat.” Cohort 2 learned that fewer than 50% of Hindus are vegetarians and that many Buddhists do not meditate daily, just like many Christians do not pray daily. Accordingly, we witnessed PSTs making comments such as, “Meditation is a central component of Buddhism”, and “Hinduism teaches compassion for animals, which is one reason why a lot of Hindus don‟t eat meat.” Likewise, after explaining how she tried to avoid using the collective pronoun “they”, one PST commented, “I remembered how we read about trying not to portray that all people of a particular religion are the same. Just like how there are so many different types of Christians, there are that many different types of Hindus and Muslims.” 6.4 Lack of seriousness and solemnity Despite the prioritization of the National Council for the Social Studies principles for “powerful and purposeful teaching” into their social studied methods courses, PSTs who want to avoid the boring recall-based teaching for which social studies is known, often take a “food, festivals, and fun” approach to their social studies teaching (NCSS, 2009). We observed eight times during Cohort 1 where PSTs “trivialized world religions into a study of surviving rituals, customs, and dress, and cookery” (Douglas, 2001, p. 10). With the best intent, eight PSTs used skits and simulations in attempt to engage students with the topic they were teaching. For example, one PST had her students make paper boats that they connected to a slanted string to simulate the Buddhist procession of Boun Awk Phansa, during which celebrants send lighted and decorated banana ornaments down rivers to pay respect and to ask for blessing. In another instance, a PST lead the class in a skit of the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, during which the students simulated the sacrifice of a cow and the distribution of 1/3 of its meat to friends and family and 1/3 of the meat to the poor. Those PSTs sought to make their teaching enjoyable for their students, but as a PST from Cohort 2 remarked after reading an assigned article on teaching about world religions, “None of us would ever consider doing skits on some Christian event like

communion or Jesus rising from the dead, so we shouldn‟t act out scenes from other religions either.” We categorized one Cohort 2 PST‟s lesson as lacking seriousness and solemnity because she lead the students in a meditation exercise during which the students were acting quite silly. Although the PST mentioned how Buddhism teaches that meditation is part of the path toward Enlightenment, she never corrected the students‟ flippant behaviors or explained how meditation is a solemn spiritual practice. On the other hand, four of the eight PSTs who taught lessons on Hinduism lead students in yoga simulations, which we did not place under this theme. There has been much debate nationally lately about whether yoga is considered an unconstitutional religious ritual when teachers lead their students in yoga exercises, either through physical education classes or in the regular classrooms. The PSTs we observed using yoga as part of their lessons simply used yoga as “energizers” and transitional activities, which they did not connect to the Hindu religion, other than to make a brief statement that yoga originated in ancient India and has roots in some early branches of Hinduism and Buddhism. 6.5 Lack of Awareness and Sensitivity Another byproduct of the PSTs‟ lack of knowledge of world religions, as noted above, were the PSTs‟ lack of awareness of some fundamental customs. Two PSTs from Cohort 1 cluelessly included pictures of Muhammad in their PowerPoint and Prezi presentations on Islam. When this was pointed out to each PST during their post-lesson conference, neither one had any awareness that many Muslims consider the visual representation of Muhammad to be a violation of Islamic law. In another instance from Cohort 1, a PST made a glib comment about Jewish dietary regulations, stating: In the Jewish religion many people still follow these old rules about food. Their leaders have determined that certain foods based on what they contain or how they‟re made are called, „kosher‟. They foods aren‟t really any different than regular food, but they follow their religious teachings. None of the observations of Cohort 2 revealed any such example of a lack of awareness or sensitivity. 6.6 Blatant proselytizing In two instances during Cohort 1, we witnessed PST exhibit a Christian bias that extended beyond mere ignorance and subtlety. One PST, who told us in his postconference that he taught Sunday School at a Protestant church, admitted that his lesson on Christianity was “a little be on the preachy side.” At one point, while the students were taking notes on his lecture, he told them, “Christianity was founded when Jesus died for your sins”. Another PST‟s lesson extended beyond teaching about Christianity into teaching how Christianity might improve students‟ lives. He had students search through local newspapers to locate and explain how the Ten Commandments shaped the functioning of our civil society. It might be worth

noting that both PSTs who blatantly promoted Christianity in their lessons were male, even though only 6 of the 43 PSTs were male. 6.7 State Content Standards As we mentioned earlier, most states, including Michigan, have state-level social studies content standards that explicitly include teaching about world religions. Even though all the PSTs derived their specific lesson objectives from Michigan‟s Grade-Level Content Expectations, none of the PSTS from Cohort 1 shared the state standards with their students. Consequently, students questioned the PSTs about the lessons, at times challenging the PSTs about the legality and appropriateness of their lessons. For example, one PST remarked, “Several kids asked if it was legal for us to be teaching religion in school.” Several PSTs admitted that they did not handle it well when confronted by students. One PST said, “I didn‟t really know what to say. I just told them that this is what our professors told us to teach.” Three PSTs noted that the atheist students were the most vocal about their lessons. One PST commented: This one kid said, „I don‟t believe in god and don‟t really want you trying to teach me religion‟, so I just told them, „We aren‟t preaching to you or trying to get you to convert to any religion. We‟re just trying to expose you to life outside of (this city)‟. During their social studies methods course in the lead up to the field experience, Cohort 2 PSTs learned about the critical comments from students during Cohort 1‟s experience, and they were advised to post the Grade-Level Content Expectations they would be teaching in each subject throughout the week. Only one PST from Cohort reported any negative comments from a student, to which she told the student, “Look up at the sheets we posted. The State says we have to teach about this.”

7. Limitations There are a number of limitations of this study. Foremost are the threats to reliability and construct validity due to the number of different observers of the PSTs‟ lessons. We do not know if each observer accurately documented the PSTs‟ words and actions. In addition, we lack assurance that two or more observers would have documented the same phenomena. Though we did not conduct interrater reliability checks, there were a few instances when two or more observers sat in on the same lessons, which allowed for discussion leading to informal interrater agreement. Furthermore, because we compared the lessons and teaching actions of two different cohorts of PSTs who taught different 7th-grade students, we do not know the extent to which other variables impacted the phenomena. Certainly, we intend for this study to be descriptive but not generalizable.

8. Discussion and Conclusion

Omitting study about religions gives students the impression that religions have not been, and are not now, part of the human experiences. Religions have influenced the behavior of both individuals and nations, and have inspired some of the world‟s most beautiful art, architecture, literature, and music (http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/religion). Learning about each other‟s religious beliefs and orientations deepens our respect for and understanding of one another (Douglass, 2002). Yet, despite what is to be gained from studying how religions originated, grew, and influenced society, teachers regularly avoid the subject (Ayers & Reid, 2005; Glanzer, 1998; Marty & Moore, 2000; Rogers, 2011; Wright, 1999; Zam & Stone, 2006). Without specific instructions or readings on teaching world religions, the PSTs in our study exhibited their lack of knowledge and awareness of world religious in several ways from biased language, lack of solemnity and sensitivity, assumption-making and generalizing, and even some instances of overt promotion of Christianity. Because there is little research on how teachers actually teach world religions in their classrooms and even less on how PSTs construct and realize lessons about world religions, this study holds potential to help teacher educators prepare future teachers for a vital topic that is found in nearly all state‟s social studies content standards. Our previous research (Anderson et al., 2013) revealed that elementary PSTs, who were predominately Christian, exhibited a number of biased actions in their teaching of world religions as a result of their lack of lack of world religions and their lack of awareness of how their personal beliefs and culture might bias their teaching. Recognizing that teachers lack knowledge of world religions and tend to avoid teaching the subject is an essential step, but does not solve the problem, however. Complicating the issue is teacher education programs‟ avoidance of teaching future teachers how to teacher about world religions (Zam & Stone, 2006). We have much to learn about why teacher educators avoid preparing their PSTs to teaching world religions, even though many of PSTs will get teaching positions that include social studies content standards about world religions. Certainly, one reason includes elementary social studies teacher educators‟ daunting task of preparing PSTs to teach history, geography, civics, and economics for grades kindergarten through 8th (Adler, 1991). Methods instructors teach pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical-content knowledge (Grossman, Wilson, & Shulman, 1989; Gudmundsdottir & Shulman, 1987). Consequently, methods instructors have time only for a small fraction of the subject-area content and methods that the PSTs will be certified to teach. In this study, a minimal amount of course time spent on general advice and pitfalls to avoid related to teaching world religions had a notable impact on the amount of insensitive and biased comments and actions in teachers‟ lessons. Further research should be conducted with other teacher education programs.

Teaching about world religions is not easy. Teachers should present historical and contemporary information in a way that is accessible to adolescent learners without oversimplifying (Norton, 2001). While most students come to school with some construction of religious teachings, comparisons between different religions and their prophets and leaders is unfeasible and ill-advised (Douglass, 2001). What‟s more, due to the deep personal connection between religions and students, teachers should avoid simulations and role-playing activities when teaching about world religions (Nord & Haynes, 1998). Instead, teachers should use primary source documents when teaching about world religions (Douglass, 2001; Nord, 1990). Most importantly, teachers need to aware of their inherent biases most of which are unconscious.

This study suggests that social studies teacher educators can have an impact on how PSTs teach world religions, even if the teacher educators devote a relatively small amount of methods course time to the topic. Certainly, more research in this area is needed, but this study suggests that an hour of time in a methods course and a few assigned readings might eliminate many of the pitfalls of teaching world religions -a topic that is regularly avoided and marginalized, at society‟s peril. As Haynes and Thomas (2001) proclaimed: Failure to understand even the basic symbols, practices and concepts of the various religions makes much of history, literature, art and contemporary life unintelligible. Moreover, knowledge of the roles of religion in the past and present promotes cross-cultural understanding essential to democracy and world peace. (p. 90) And, as Douglass (2002) asserted, “All of us as citizens have the responsibility to learn about one another so that we can unite in positive social conduct” (p. 32).

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Subedi, B. (2006). Preservice teachers' beliefs and practices: Religion and religious diversity. Equity & Excellence in Education, 39(3), 227-238. Tienda, M. (2013). Diversity≠ Inclusion Promoting Integration in Higher Education. Educational Researcher, 42(9), 467-475. Waggoner, M. D. (Ed.). (2013). Religion in the Public Schools. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Wexler, J. D. (2002). Preparing for the Clothed Public Square: Teaching About Religion, Civic Education, and the Constitution. William & Mary Law. Review, 43, 1159-1166. Wills, J. S. (2007). Putting the squeeze on the social studies: Managing teaching dilemmas in subject areas excluded from state testing. Teachers College Record, 109(8), 1980-2046. Wright, E. A. (1999). Religion in American Education: A Historical View. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(1), 17-20. Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Zam, G. A., & Stone, G. E. (2006). Social studies teacher educators: A survey of attitudes toward religion in the curriculum. Religion and Education, 33(1), 90-105.

Appendix 1 1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

Black, S. (2003). Teaching about religion: Where schools sometimes go wrong is ignoring that little word 'about'. American school board journal, 8(1), retrieved from http://paws.wcu.edu/churley/8_1_black.pdf Douglass, S. L. (2000). Teaching about Religion in National and State Social Studies Standards. Executive Summary. Handling “Religion” in Classroom and Curriculum. Retrieved from: http://www.teachingaboutreligion.org/guidance.html Haynes, C. C. (Ed.). (2003). The first amendment in schools: A guide from the first amendment center. ASCD. Lester, E., & Roberts, P. S. (2011). Learning about world religions in Modesto, California: The promise of teaching tolerance in public schools. Politics and Religion, 4(02), 264-288. Passe, J., & Willox, L. (2009). Teaching religion in America‟s public schools: A necessary disruption. The Social Studies, 100(3), 102-106.

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 59-78, March 2015

Antecedents of Norwegians Student Teachers' Campus Time on Task Knut-Andreas Christophersen Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway Eyvind Elstad Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Norway Trond Solhaug Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway Are Turmo Norwegian Centre for Science Education, University of Oslo, Norway Abstract. Many evaluations have shown that Norwegian student teachers spend little time studying. In this research, we investigate the influence of selected antecedents of student teachers' time on task, based on survey data and structural equation modelling. The main finding is that student self-discipline and the level of external academic pressure stand out as significant predictors of student time on task. This is particularly evident regarding the time on task in individual studies and student-led colloquiums. The type of teacher education programme also appears to be of significance. This is mainly explained by a higher reported average time at lectures and teacher-led seminars at university colleges than at universities. If a low level of time on task is regarded as a problem, a tightening of work requirements in the campus-based elements of teacher education could be a possible remedy. Keywords: time on task; student teachers; self-discipline; motivation; teacher education.

Introduction and the context of Norwegian teacher education All teacher education in Norway during recent years has been criticised in expert assessments (The Panel for Teacher Education Reform, 2014; The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education, 2006; Haug, 2008; Lid, 2013) and through newspaper articles penned by student teachers. The criticism in evaluations has emphasised low time on task among students (Lid, 2014), a

lack of relevance in the campus-based part of the course and a lack of continuity and connection between the campus-based course and practicum (Lid, 2013). Time on task in this article denotes the sum of the students' activities devoted to their studies in the campus-based part of the teacher-education programme: lectures, student-led colloquiums, teacher-led seminars and individual studies. Thus, educational authorities put pressure on teacher education (Ministry of Education and Research, 2014). Within the upper-level education course and practical-pedagogic training, students typically rank the practicum significantly higher than campus-based teaching (Finne, Mordal & Stene, 2014). The criticism is directed especially towards the education course entitled ‘Pedagogy and Pupil Understanding’.1 Many students believe that the integration between campus teaching and practicum is weak. Lid (2013) also finds the same patterns. Students following the primary and secondary-school teacher education also value the practicum elements more highly than the campus-based education; in comparison with earlier measurements, the ‘Pedagogy and Pupil Understanding’ subject is less favoured than the teacher-education subject formerly known as ‘Pedagogy’ (Finne, Mordal & Stene, 2014). We thus cannot isolate the question of a low degree of time on task from that of relevance. Criticism of Norwegian teacher education is not a recent phenomenon. It crops up regularly in newspaper articles and blogs (e.g. Vedeler, 2010; Barbogen, 2011; Vasli, 2011). In one newspaper article, a teacher education student described how he gained the next-to-the-highest grade by only reading one book and attending only one lecture (Vassli, 2010). Another reader comment advised a student to give up the pedagogic part of the university teacher education course because it was inadequate (Moen, 2014). One aspect that has received criticism is a lack of unity and connection in the course (Lid, 2013; Hammernes, 2013). Teacher education institutions have replied that measures have been implemented to create a stronger connection between theory and practice (Vedeler, 2014), including the use of an examination structure based on video cases using practical teaching situations and more frequent alternation between theoretical teaching and school-based practice (Lund, Bakken & Engelien, 2014). However, it does not appear that these changes have so far led to significantly higher time on task. How much student teachers learn from their own studies depends, amongst other things, both on how much time is actually spent on studying and how much effort student teachers put into their studies. The relationship between time on task and performance is complex (Rosenshine & Berliner, 1978; Brophy, 1986), but there is a widespread acknowledgement that it is not a linear relationship (Gettinger, 1986). If the student teacher does not work in an effective and efficient manner, there will not necessarily be a clear relationship between time on task and performance. But it is difficult to envisage progress in learning without the student in question spending sufficient time studying. Time on task is a prerequisite for learning in campus-based teaching. For this reason, 1

Bronkhorst et al. (2014) have identified similar resistance to pedagogy courses in many countries.

we argue that a reasonably high time on task in the campus-based part of the teacher-education course and learning intentions is an important prerequisite for the proper functioning of a campus-based course. In other words, it should: (1) equip the student teacher with skills and tools to teach academic subjects and to lead pupil learning and (2) contribute to future adaptability, so students will be able to relate to changes in the mandate for professional teaching activities (Darling-Hammond, 2006). Society will expect that student teachers during their time on campus will work on their studies to an extent that more or less equates to a normal work week for a full-time employee. In general, Norwegian students spend less time on their studies than students from other Nordic countries (Statistics Norway, 2014). What studies of teacher-education programmes are silent about explains the student teachers' time on task. Conversely, there are isolated accounts of time on task amongst students in a large number of courses, including different kinds of teacher education courses. The purpose of the present study is to explore the impact of selected factors on student teachers' time on task.

Teacher education programmes in Norway Teacher education in most national systems is a rather complex programme consisting of a degree in an academic subject (such as mathematics, chemistry, physics etc.) and pedagogic education, which in a more direct sense prepares the student for professional life in a school context (Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2012). In Norway, there are two types of programmes typically offered by university colleges and three university programmes in teacher education. University college programmes qualify students for teaching in either grades 1 through 7 or 5 through 10. Both these programmes are based on a campus-based teacher education model: theories are met on campus and afterwards applied in schools. These programmes are also offered by some of the newer universities, which used to be university colleges. However, for simplicity, we refer to them here as university college programmes. Until 2017, these programmes will be four-year integrated academic degree programmes (planned to be re-shaped as five-year master’s degree programmes in 2017). Universities mainly have three teacher programmes. In the first, students apply for a five-year integrated programme, where students specialise in a subject (i.e. history, mathematics, science), which is taught over the five years. In the second, students take a one-year teacher education course after finishing subjectoriented bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Third, ‘Teach First’ is a two-year specially designed programme for carefully selected candidates (Nesje, 2014). Campus-based teaching is reduced in this programme, and the schools’ responsibility for the practice-based element of teacher education is correspondingly increased. Student teachers take full responsibility for a classroom after a six-week summer course. However, they have ongoing and close supervision during their practicum. Time use regarding students’ learning in Norway ©2015 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved

Table 1 shows the average total time use on studies reported by students attending different types of full-time programmes in Norway, according to the Norwegian quality assurance agency for education (Lid, 2014). The survey was conducted in the autumn of 2013 and sent out to all bachelor’s and master’s students in Norway. The table shows a large variation between the different categories of study programmes. Architecture and medicine are found at the top, while teacher programmes are found below the average. However, the survey also shows a large variation among the different teacher education programmes. The highest value for a teacher programme is approximately at the level of medicine in Table 1. Therefore, it is of much interest to study antecedents of student teachers’ time on task. The normal full-time work week in Norway is 37.5 hours; i.e. only a few of the reported averages in Table 1 are at or above this number. Table 1: Total time use (hours/week) for study programmes in Norway. Source: Lid (2014). Study programme

Time used

Architecture Medicine Civil engineering Arts, design, music Engineering Science and math Law Nursing Psychology 5-year teacher programmes Economics/business Political science Humanities Kindergarten teaching Primary teacher Languages General education

43.1 37.0 35.6 33.7 33.1 32.6 31.5 29.8 29.2 28.0 27.3 25.9 25.4 25.3 25.2 23.7 23.1

All programmes

29.0

The raison d’être of teacher education is that student teachers should qualify for the work life of teachers (Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2012). To a large extent, the quality of the education will depend on the quality of the student intake and on the progress made by the student teachers during the course of their studies. Learning progress induced by the education programme (value added) is dependent on the quality of the campus-based courses, the personal talent of the student teachers for carrying out the tasks associated with the teaching profession, the quality of the supervision received by students in their school-based practicum and – not least – their own learning activities. It is difficult to isolate the significance of any one individual factor in a way that will

give unambiguous information about the quality of a teacher education programme (Calderhead, 1991). Nevertheless, in this article, we will restrict the scope to focus on student teachers' time on task on campus, and we will explore factors that may be of significance for inducing time on task.

Theoretical framework and research hypothesis Lectures, student-led colloquiums, teacher-led seminars and individual studies (time on task in the campus-based part of the teacher-education programme) are important to attaining the goals promoted by the campus-based programme. Various kinds of explanations exist regarding why student teachers – like other groups of students – study. The motivation of student teachers regarding their studies is considered an important topic (Roness & Smith, 2009). Motivation entails having goals for one's own actions. Motivational researchers divide motivation into a continuum of various categories such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation denotes the inner drive to carry out a task (Deci, 1975; Ryan & Deci, 2000), for instance a desire on the part of the student teacher to become a teacher because he or she has a desire that pupils should learn or due to a feeling that the profession itself is exciting. This line of thinking forms the basis of our first hypothesis: intrinsic motivation in study situations predicts a student teacher's time on task. Self-determined extrinsic motivation is also of interest for time on task. Achievement goal motivation is a concept that is concerned with comparing one's own performance with that of others (Pintrich, 2000). In teacher education, the student teacher's performance during his or her practicum is judged according to the grades pass or fail. In connection with education-based activities on campus, Norwegian student teachers are assessed in several exams according to a six-stage graded scale in which A is the highest and F, the lowest. Grade statistics indicate that the majority of grades awarded clump around the mid-range. Achievement goal motivation, however, can also be of significance during the course of study rather than just at the end of it (Ashton, 1984). For instance, seminar leaders may indicate an implicit evaluation of student performance at the same time, as fellow students will draw conclusions about the skills of a student on the basis of their own interpretations of the student's behaviour in formal and informal contexts. In such situations, achievement goal motivation can be significant even if no explicit grade is awarded at that stage of the study (Roness & Smith, 2009). Many studies have shown achievement goal motivation to be significant in terms of behaviour (Senko et al., 2011). Therefore, an evidently interesting hypothesis – no. 2 in this study – is: achievement goal motivation in study contexts predicts student teachers' time on task. Many studies document that self-discipline is of great significance for the completion of studies, study performance and so on (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011). Self-discipline can be understood as a more or less permanent personality feature of an individual. No one, however, is completely locked into a personality; with the exception of quite extraordinary situations, everyone has options, and as such, the opportunity to change their own patterns of behaviour. Self-discipline can, thus, be regarded as a force within each individual that is

significant for his or her ability to complete the course of study. Our third hypothesis is: the actual personality feature of self-discipline predicts time on task in on-campus teacher-education studies. So far, the factors that we have taken into consideration can be regarded as qualities of an individual student: motivation and self-discipline. Time on task on the part of student teachers can, however, also be understood as a response to the demands and tasks imposed by the course on student teachers as a part of the study programme (Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2012). For instance, some sections of the teaching programme can consist of submitted activities that will be marked and assessed by the academic staff of the university or college. The lecturers can specify their demands regarding effort by means of comments on student performance and compulsory submissions. These demands represent the institution's expectations expressed through the curriculum, requirements and tasks to be completed. To identify aspects of the teacher programme that generate effort in the form of time on task, we investigate how this is seen in the teaching course's self-determined activities (private study) and activities that are laid down by the university/college as compulsory activities. Our fourth hypothesis is: external academic pressure will predict study effort and, thus, time on task. Previous evaluations have indicated that there are certain differences in quality between the teacher-education variants offered by the universities and the university colleges (Roness & Smith, 2009). These evaluations form the basis to explore whether there are significant differences between universities and university colleges regarding student time on task.

Empirical survey methodology Samples and procedures The reported analysis is part of a research project in which Norwegian student teachers' preferences (such as motivation, self-discipline, perceived support from supervisors etc.) are examined. A questionnaire was distributed to Norwegian teacher students in selected institutions (university colleges and universities). The surveys included the following (table 3): 1. One-year undergraduate teacher education programme for candidates with a vocational or general academic educational background 2. Integrated five-year senior-teacher education programme at university 3. Primary teacher education programme (for teaching in grades 1–7) 4. Primary/secondary teacher education programme (for teaching in grades 5–10) 5. General teacher education programme (for teaching in grades 1–10), i.e. the old model The survey was carried out during spring and autumn 2013. Data collection was carried out in the following two ways:

(1) Students following the senior-teacher programme and the teacher education programme at a university, as well as primary/secondary/general teacher students at a university college, were given the paper-based questionnaire during obligatory seminar teaching. The students were informed that participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw from the survey at any point. None of the students who were present declined to take part in the survey. The response rate was 100%. (2) The other part of the sampling procedure was based on an electronic survey. Students at four Norwegian university colleges with primary/secondary/general teacher programmes took part in an electronic questionnaire run by the firm Advicia. The researchers were given the e-mail addresses of the student teachers by the teacher-education institutions, and Advicia sent the electronic questionnaire to these email addresses. It is not possible to estimate the exact response rate within this sample because many students were not users of the institutionally allocated e-mail addresses at two schools. A comparison of gender and age shows that this sample is well aligned with the characteristics of the general population of student teachers at the university colleges. A further validation was done via the comparison of measures of time on task in our investigation. A similar investigation of time on task was undertaken by the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education in the survey previously mentioned (Lid, 2014). The average measures are quite similar. These validation efforts indicate that some characteristics of our sample from the electronic questionnaire are well aligned with similar characteristics of the reference population among Norwegian student teachers. In total, 635 students responded. The analysis is based on 432 responses (311 women and 121 men) after the removal of missing values. University college students contributed 270 responses, while 162 responses were from university students. Measurement instruments A questionnaire was constructed based on measurement instruments previously reported in the literature, as well as new developments (table 2). In the survey, student teachers responded to items on a seven-point Likert scale in which the middle numeral ‘four’ represented a neutral midpoint. The concepts were measured with two to three single items. The analysis reported in the following is based on five measurement instruments. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for each of the concepts is satisfactory; Cronbach’s alpha is between .71 and .82. In addition, the mean inter-item correlations indicate the measurement error (the reliability) of one single item for each concept. The indicators, Cronbach’s alpha (αc) and the item reliability for each concept, are as follows: Table 2: Overview of constructs, items, Cronbach’s alpha and item reliability Concepts and indicators

Cronbac h’s alpha

Item 1) reliabili ty

Intrinsic motivation, IM

.71

.55

.78

.65

.81

.58

.82

.70

I want to be a teacher because: I want others to be interested in working with children because teaching young people is meaningful Achievement goal motivation, PM It is important to me: to be looked up to by the other students. to be described as the best in the study group. Self-discipline, SD I generally complete assignments with plenty of time before the deadline. Even though I allocate time for studying, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t manage to get it done. 2) I often put off the things I have to do until the last minute. 2) External academic pressure, HE Compared with high school, study requirements are greater in teaching classes. Compared with high school, I have to use more time to keep up with my teaching classes. Institution category, w1 University: 0 and University College: 1 Time on task, TT Lectures Student-led colloquiums Teacher-led seminars Individual studies 1)

Mean inter-item correlations

Reversed

Analysis Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the relationships between the variables. SEM is suitable for confirmatory factor and path analyses. Assessments of fit between model and data are based on the following indices: root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), normed fit index (NFI), goodness-of-fit index (GFI) and comparative fit index (CFI). An RMSEA of <.05 and NFI, GFI and CFI of >.95 indicate a good fit; an RMSEA of <.08 and NFI, GFI and CFI of >.90 indicate an acceptable fit (Kline, 2005).

The measurement and structural models were estimated with IBM SPSS Amos 21. The values of the RMSEA, NFI, GFI and CFI indicate that the structural models in figures 1 through 4 have an acceptable fit.

Empirical results Figure 1 shows the distribution of total time on task (tt) at the student level. The figure shows that the average time use in the sample is close to the average for student teachers in the previously mentioned Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education student barometer survey (See Table 1). This means that the average is rather low, with a value of only 26.1 hours per week. As previously mentioned, the normal full-time work week in Norway is 37.5 hours per week.

Figure 1: Distribution of total time use (hours/week), N=432

Figure 2: Antecedents of student teachers' total time on task: im=intrinsic motivation, pm=achievement goal motivation, sd=self-discipline, he=external academic pressure, tt1 = total time on task in studies, w1=institution; 0=university and 1=university college. Significant path coefficients and correlations are in bold italics, N=432.

Figure 2 shows antecedents of student teachers' reported total time use regarding their studies. The figure shows the strongest effects of external academic pressure (.30) and self-discipline (.27). A moderate effect concerning the institutional category is also found (.22).

Figure 3: Antecedents of student teachers' total time use regarding lectures and teacher-led seminars: im=intrinsic motivation, pm=achievement goal motivation, sd=self-discipline, he=external academic pressure, tt2 =time on task on lectures and teacher-led seminars, w1=institution; 0=university and 1=university college. Significant path coefficients and correlations are in bold italics, N=432.

Figure 3 shows antecedents of student teachers' reported time use regarding lectures and teacher-led seminars, i.e. activities directly initiated by the institution. The figure clearly shows the strongest effect in the institutional category (.38). A moderate effect concerning external academic pressure is also found (.19).

Figure 4: Antecedents of student teachers' total time use regarding individual studies and student-led colloquiums: im=intrinsic motivation, pm=achievement goal motivation, sd=self-discipline, he=external academic pressure, tt3=time on task on individual studies and student-led colloquiums, w1=institution; 0=university and 1=university college. Significant path coefficients and correlations are in bold italics, N=432.

Figure 4 shows antecedents of student teachers' reported time use regarding individual studies and student-led colloquiums, i.e. student-initiated activities. The figure clearly shows the strongest effects concern self-discipline (.30) and external academic pressure (.25). Table 3: Gender, type of institution and year of study. Number and (%)

Number and (%)

Gender

Male: 126 (29.2%)

Female: 306 (70.8%)

Institution

University: 158 (36.6%)

University college: 274 (63.4%)

Year of study

1st year: 162 (37.5%)

2nd year: 42 (9.7%)

Number and (%)

3rd year: 102 (23.6%)

4th year: 96 (22.2%)

5th year: 26 (6%)

Discussion and implications A main finding of this study is that student self-discipline and the level of external academic pressure stand out as significant predictors of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time on task (table 4). This is particularly evident regarding time on task in individual studies and student-led colloquiums. The type of teacher education programme also appears to be of significance for the total time on task. This is mainly explained by a higher reported average time use regarding lectures and teacher-led seminars at university colleges than at universities. University college courses seem to demand a bigger workload from student teachers, regarding the submissions and seminar presentations that form part of teacher-education programmes. However, the difference between university programmes and those of university colleges is not significant in the self-initiative part of teacher courses. University college programmes make greater demands of student teachers than university courses do: the higher time on task in university college programmes is a response to the extent of the work demand. To give an overall perspective of what we term antecedents of time on task, selfdiscipline is the personal factor that is most strongly associated with time on task. This finding, however, does not apply to all study activities. Self-discipline and motivation (both intrinsic and achievement goal motivation) are only weakly associated with time on task in the case of institutionally initiated learning activities. One interpretation of this is that it is the demands of activities on the education programme itself that has the greatest catalytic effect for actually completed time on task. In the case of self-study activities, the picture is different. In this case, self-discipline is moderately strongly associated with time on task, while achievement goal motivation has a rather weaker association with time on task. Intrinsic motivation, by contrast, is not associated with time on task in the case of self-study. Primarily, self-discipline stands out as a significant factor in connection with self-studies. For many believers in the primary significance of intrinsic motivation, it may seem surprising to find that intrinsic motivation does not appear to be a significant driving force regarding time on task. This result is in contrast to a number of other studies describing the significance of motivation in teacher education, meaning that we need more research on the significance of motivation concerning study effort (e.g. Roness & Smith, 2009). There are obvious and clear weaknesses in the self-reporting on which our measurements rely. An objective confirmation of time spent studying (such as electronic registration of when people actually are occupied with studies) could have improved measurements of time on task. However, self-reporting is the dominant approach in time-use studies in general. Irrespective of this question, however, the particularly low estimate of time on task in teacher education when compared with other study programmes represents a clear challenge for universities and university colleges. Despite its flaws, self-reporting does express estimates that can be regarded as relevant indicators of time on task. Our estimate for the teacher-education courses as a whole and for the individual

teacher-education variants corresponds very closely with equivalent measurements made by the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (Lid, 2014). There is no reason to believe that student teachers in the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education's survey would understand the questions that were put to them differently from any other group of students (However, these estimates are contested: See Martinussen & Smestad, 2011). We, therefore, place a reasonable degree of trust in the measurements of time on task being an acceptably valid and reliable indicator of study input. As indicated before, a normal work week in Norway consists of 37.5 hours. The estimated measurements of time on task for the various teacher programmes are lower than those that society should expect. Our study suggests that teachereducation institutions ought to place an emphasis on more external academic pressure on the students, make more demands in terms of coursework and provide feedback to assignments so poor achievement will not be tolerated. Student teachers, in fact, receive better grades than nursing students and engineering students but have lower time on task (The Panel for Teacher Education Reform, 2014). The possibility of failure may be a necessity to ensure that students take their studies sufficiently seriously. Such a conclusion, however, is controversial and runs counter to some core results in motivational research. We need more research in this respect to arrive at a conclusion regarding this question on a better qualified basis than we are able to do here. Raising demands in a way that can lead to failure (or drop-out) is, however, a strategy that, within the Norwegian educational financing system, would potentially punish teacher-education institutions in the short term (Only successfully completed student exams generate variable income for teachereducation institutions). It is an open question whether measures that generate greater time on task actually contribute to solving actual challenges of relevance in terms of teachereducation institutions, as mentioned in the introduction to this article. Even the teacher-education programme with the highest average time on task (for teachers in years 1-7) has encountered strong criticism in public evaluations (The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education, 2006). In other words, greater time on task is not a magic formula to solve the many and considerable challenges facing the teacher-education programmes. We, nevertheless, focus on a limited aspect of teacher education here because study input is an important prerequisite for attaining results. Study input itself does not guarantee that a student during the course of his or her subsequent working life will ever actually make use of the skills with which their studies have provided them. The field of educational science is influenced by shifting trends. One powerful trend over the last few years has been the so-called situated learning model (Korthagen, 2010), which assumes that learning takes place in the same context in which it is experienced. The socio-cultural theory (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989) assumes that that the learner should be enculturated by more experienced professionals. These theoretical models suggest that practicum is a particularly valuable arena as an introduction to teaching culture, while campus-based ÂŠ2015 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved

teaching is often regarded as an artificial arena in which to acquire teaching skills. It has been suggested that exams in which the candidate is not allowed to take in resources or aids are an artificial situation, while exam preparation can lead to an intensification of study activity that has no benefit to learning for reallife situations. The claim is that exams based on authentic working situations are a better examination form than those in which brought-in resources are not permitted. A number of innovations have taken place in the field with the purpose of attaining a better coupling between theory and practice, such as a more frequent alternation between campus-based and school-based teaching, case-based examinations, MOOC etc. (Jahreie & Ludvigsen, 2007; Rasmussen & Ludvigsen, 2009). Reconfiguring teacher education in such a direction has its supporters in the Norwegian teacher-education debate. From a standpoint of this sort, our proposal of higher external academic pressure as a means of increasing time on task amongst student teachers can appear unconvincing. It may appear that giving exam takers a video case situation, permitting all available resources for help, can be regarded as insufficiently challenging to make student teachers realise that they need to make more effort during the course of their educational studies. This is a question that must be resolved in future research projects. Our evidence makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion that the examination ought to seem sufficiently demanding to ensure that the study effort will match society's expectations regarding study input in a fulltime course. For this reason, we regard an increase in demands and external academic pressure – in terms of the examination and of the course as a whole – as an essential element in a turn-around operation for teacher-education programmes in Norway. For some individuals, criticism of Norwegian teacher-education programmes will raise the question of whether universities and university colleges are the correct institutions in which to operate such programmes (e.g. Paulsen, 2014). We are aware that the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities regards local authorities and county councils as being equally capable of running teacher-education programmes as educational institutions (the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, 2013; the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities/Ministry of Education, 2014). This concept is not without its grounds in real life: the Oslo city council is an active partner in the ‘Teach First Norway’ teacher-education programme, together with the University of Oslo and Statoil. It is not a law of nature that universities and university colleges must occupy the teacher-education role in the future. Other models that tone down the role of academic institutions are as conceivable as future solutions (Lunenberg & Korthagen, 2009). Alternative teacher certification programmes are increasingly implemented in several countries (Consuegra, Engels & Struyven, 2014). However, in those countries in which campus-based teaching has been reduced and the responsibility of the schools for the practice-based element of teaching education is correspondingly increased, a number of problems and challenges have arisen (Grossman, 1989; Edwards & Protheroe, 2003; Kwakman, 2003; Ball & Forzani, 2009; Consuegra et al., 2014). These experiences do not so far provide an empirical basis on which to claim that schools or local authorities would be capable of operating teacher-

education programmes more successfully than universities or university colleges. Limitations of the Study There are several limitations to this study. This type of analysis has limitations from a conceptual perspective (parsimonious modelling) and in terms of its methodological (cross-sectional) approach. We acknowledge these limitations and argue that they can serve as a point of departure for future research. One limitation of this study is the use of self-reported questionnaire data. The subjective component of such data is undeniable. Only a limited number of concepts were examined. A final limitation is the sample of student teachers. The exact response rate of the e-mail survey was difficult to determine because of the inactive use of e-mail addresses. Due to this shortcoming, we cannot be sure that our sample is representative for the whole population of student teachers in Norway. In sum, these shortcomings provide a direction for future research. Future studies could also include other, or a broader spectrum of, explanatory variables than we have done in the present study.

Conclusion Despite its shortcomings, this study may contribute to our understanding of antecedents of student teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time on task. If the associations represent causal relationships, the conclusion regarding this question must be that both the campus-based teaching and the teaching-practice element within the schools face challenges respecting the ambition to professionalise teaching (table 4). In our opinion, one of the requirements must be to increase the external academic pressure with the purpose of increasing time on task. Study input will, in any event, be an important prerequisite for legitimising society's use of resources in teacher-education programmes. One implication of this study is that, if a low level of time on task is regarded as a problem, a tightening of the work requirements in the campus-based elements of teacher education would be a possible remedy. The self-discipline of student teachers is the personality factor that is most strongly associated with time on task, whilst the motivation of student teachers is relatively weakly associated with time on task. Self-discipline appears to be of considerable significance to student teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; self-managed study. An unanswered question is whether teaching self-discipline strategies or other institutional arrangements would sustain time on task.

Table 4 Overview of results related to the hypotheses and the exploratory question (T=total time-otask; L=lectures and teacher led seminars; I=individual studies and student led colloquiums) Wording

Supported?

Hypothesis 1

Intrinsic motivation in study situations predicts student teacher's time-on-task

T,L,I: no support

Hypothesis 2

Achievement goal motivation in study contexts predicts student teachers' time-on-task

T, I: supported L: no support

Hypothesis 3

The actual personality feature of self-discipline predicts time-on-task in the on-campus teachereducation study The external academic pressure will predict study effort and thus time-on-task

T,I: supported L: no support

Hypothesis 4 Exploratory question

Are there are significant differences between universities and the university colleges regarding student time on task?

T,L,I: supported I: no difference T,L: difference

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 78-101, March 2015

Portraits of One-To-One Learning Environments in a New Learning Ecology John K. Lee, Hiller Spires, Eric Wiebe, Karen Hollebrands and Carl Young North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina

Abstract: This research reports on four teachers in a new learning ecology prompted by one-to-one computing. The new learning ecology involves unique conditions for teaching and learning including: (a) immediate and constant access to information; (b) intensity, relevance and personalization of learning; (c) highly developed student dispositions; and (d) advanced teacher capacities. The study utilizes a multi-case method approach with four high school core subject classes, including data from classroom observations, interviews, and teacher materials. The findings suggest that teachers searched for ways to situate one-to-one computing in their teaching through a variety of negotiated actions: (a) using digital technologies as learning tools, (b) supporting existing pedagogical strategies, and (c) establishing the computer as a hub for learning activities. Additionally, important consistencies regarding the nature of the learning ecology emerged in the classrooms. These findings are an initial attempt to create a robust theoretical frame for one-to-one computing within a new learning ecology. Keywords: One-to-one computing, learning ecology, technology, pedagogy

Introduction "The digital age is creating an information and communications renaissance. But it is not serving all Americans and their local communities equally. It is not yet serving democracy fully. How we react, individually and collectively, to this democratic shortfall will affect the quality of our lives and the very nature of our communities." -- Knight Commission, 2009 The Knight Commission (2009) suggests that we have entered an information and communications renaissance in the current digital age. One area that exemplifies this dynamic transformation has been the effort to put computers in the hands of every student in a school, which has become a reality for some communities across the nation. One-to-one laptop computing has emerged as one of

the most important contexts for educational innovation (Lei, Conway, & Zhao, 2007), with several states within the United States (i.e., Indiana, Maine, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia) having implemented large-scale one-to-one computing initiatives. Research points to the impact of one-to-one learning environments and their potential learning benefits (Bebell, Clarkson, Burraston, 2014; Donovan, Green, & Hartley, 2010; Grimes & Warschauer, 2008; Mouza, 2008), technology literacy and writing (Penuel, 2006), and the advantages of cognitive tools (Weston & Bain, 2010). A recent study by Zheng, Arada, Nilya, & Warschauer (2014) provided the much needed perspective of student voices relative to personal computing in K-12 schools. Despite an abundance of activity, we still know very little about how the introduction of one-to-one student laptop computing impacts the classroom and the overall ecology of learning in schools, especially in terms of whether the initiative is affecting communities evenly as the Knight Commission warns. Research presented herein sheds light on teaching and learning in one-to-one computing through an investigation of multiple classrooms in a single high school. Specifically, we investigated the practices of four academic teachers in a high school where every student was issued a computer and all teachers were expected to incorporate computer use in their instruction. The research reported here is an extension of a larger body of work in which we defined a new learning ecology (Spires, Wiebe, Young, Hollebrands, & Lee, 2012) related to one-to-one computing. The new learning ecology is a dynamic environment that extends learning contexts for students as they utilize technologies with the careful guidance of teachers.

Theoretical and Conceptual Underpinnings of the New Learning Ecology Ecology as a metaphor for learning is widely used across a spectrum of disciplines, including but not limited to biology, psychology, linguistics, and education (Bronfenbrenner, 1986, 1989; Lier, 2004). Specifically related to the role of technologies and learning, John Seeley Brown (1999) defines knowledge ecology as ―an open system, dynamic and interdependent, diverse, partially selforganizing, and adaptive‖ (p. 3). Barron (2006), in turn described the concept of a knowledge economy as a learning ecology as the ―set of contexts found in physical or virtual spaces that provide opportunities for learning,‖ which may include formal and informal settings (p. 195). Brown, Pendleton-Jullian, and Adler (2010) introduced the idea of ―ecotones‖ to describe learning environments that possess a complex set of exchange dynamics. Ecotones is derived from the Greek word oekos, which means household, and tones from tonos, also Greek, which means tension or pressure. They contend that students are involved in ―new combinations of education and research, classroom learning and learning in informal study groups, and learning that takes place in face-to-face and in online environments‖ (p.12). Gilbert (2013) describes an example of an ecotone in her work on civic education as providing an opportunity to ―dismantle the boundaries between community and campus to create a highly interactive environment for civic engagement‖ (para. 3). Brown,

Pendleton-Jullian, and Adler (2010) applied the concept of ecotones to new ―learningscapes‖ that they were seeing in higher education; however, the concept can be applied to K-12 learning environments as well. In both contexts, the tension of working with emerging technologies helps spark a creative dynamic in terms of teaching and learning. Spires et al. (2012) defined a new learning ecology (Figure 1) as a new concept prompted by personal computing and learning environments. In a one-to-one ecology that has constant and immediate access to information, many influences are present in a partially chaotic (i.e., unpredictable) way—among complex interactions, new ways of teaching and learning may emerge. The new learning ecology provides new learning opportunities for students; greater understanding is possible as technologies are leveraged for ongoing learning actions. This view of situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) is different from a scientific model in which every effect has a cause preceding it. The new learning ecology as we have defined it in relation to one-to-one computing environments is one such application, that includes four phases (Spires, et al, 2012, ).

Figure 1. Four conditions of the new learning ecology.

One-to-One Computing in the Classroom Policy-makers have championed one-to-one computing programs, in part, based on economic and equity concerns as well as a general interest in education reform (Zucker & Light, 2009). There is a belief that technology use by students and teachers is an essential component of developing future-ready, 21st century skills (Dede, 2009; National Research Council, 2008), and addressing the literacy challenges of the 21st century, more generally (Warschauer, 2006). Early one-to-

one laptop initiatives have been implemented at the statewide level in Maine and at a more regional level in New Hampshire (Bebell, 2005) and Virginia (HCPSTLI, 2008). Individual school districts in Texas, as well as states such as South Dakota, Massachusetts, and Florida, established programs ranging in size from 5 to 47 schools (Bebell & Kay, 2010; Cavanaugh, Dawson, & Ritzhaupt, 2008; Gorder, 2007). North Carolina also has an extensive and statewide one-toone laptop computing program (NC1LC, 2008). Not surprisingly, schools in other countries are also establishing one-to-one programsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both industrialized nations such as Australia and emerging nations through the One Laptop per Child program (Derndorfer, 2011; Muir et al., 2006; OLPC, 2010). This move to establish one-to-one computer (primarily laptop) programs has been supported by studies that have shown positive impact on the standard measures of student achievement (Gulek & Demirtas, 2005; Richardson, Mcleod, Flora, Sauers, Kannan, & Sincar, 2013). Penuel (2006) demonstrated in a metaanalysis that technology use may positively affect technological literacy and writing. Similarly, Sclater, Sicoly, Abrami, and Wade (2006) reported positive impacts on secondary reading and writing scores. The emergence of ubiquitous computing has also opened the door for new forms of instruction, especially individualized instruction driven by computer-based tutoring systems (Bebell & Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dwyer, 2010; Mendicino, Razzaq, & Heffernan, 2009). From the researcher/practitioner view, however, there has been a desire to render a richer view of what is and what can be transpiring in the classroom (Spires et al., 2012; Weston & Bain, 2010) in the form of deep descriptions of transformative practice. One-to-one laptop programs, in particular, and technology infusion programs, in general, are not without their critics. Numerous studies have found uneven implementation and varying levels of technology integration effectiveness when analyzed at the classroom, school and district level (Bebell & Kay, 2010; Shapley, Sheehan, Maloney, & Caranikas-Walker, 2009). The lack of strong implementation/integration plans and the resulting low-level or sporadic use that follows are problems that cross cultural and national boundaries (Derndorfer, 2011; Eteokleous, 2008). The reasons cited for these outcomes are many, including the slow response of curriculum development to match the potential held by new technologies (Johnson, Levine, & Smith, 2009). Researchers also have commented that technology implementation strategies in the classroom do not necessarily reflect how technology is used by students outside of the classroom (Ito et al., 2009). Cuban (2001) noted that initial technology integration designs often mimic their analog counterparts rather than facilitating transformative possibilities in teaching and learning. The result can be unstructured or poorly supported computer use that becomes a distraction to educational goals structured around traditional approaches and benchmarks (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2009). Christensen, Horn and Johnson (2008) concluded that one-to-one technologies act as a positive disruptive force to traditional approaches to instruction. However, the disruption must be followed by a development of new paradigms of teaching and learning (Weston & Bain, 2010). These changes are often seen first

in changes in teaching practices, if not in standard measures of student achievement (Cavanaugh et al., 2008). Instructors whose implementations have been deemed successful have understood the systemic nature of one-to-one environments, developing strategic plans to overcome both known and emerging barriers (Hew & Brush, 2007), especially as projects scale up (Dede & Rockman, 2007). Understanding the role that school leadership plays in one-to-one programs has been recognized as central to the success of projects (Ertmer et al., 2002). Student outcomes, in fact, is just one of many factors principals and other administrators take into account when deciding whether to commit resources to a technology project (Gerard, Bowyer, & Linn, 2008). Both researchers and policy makers also have concluded that research can play a role in building leadership and instructional capacity within school districts for the types of changes largescale technology projects bring (Roderick, Easton, & Sebring, 2009; Zucker, 2004). Needless to say, at the classroom level, teachers have a key role in affecting how one-to-one technology is deployed and used in the classroom (Bebell & O’Dwyer, 2010). Teacher use of the technology affects the learning conditions in the classroom, while also providing a model for how students might make use of the technology. Drawing from the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the new learning ecology and the literature highlighting the impact and support of one-to-one initiatives in the classroom, we conducted case studies of four one-to-one classrooms. With this understanding of the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the new learning ecology and research on one-to-one computing, our focus shifts to our own research initiative.

Research Context and Methodology This research project emerged out of our work in a professional development network designed to support schools as they transitioned into a one-to-one computing program. After working with numerous teachers in one-to-one schools as part of this professional development project, we established a focused research relationship with a group of teachers at one school. Our research was guided by the following questions.  What does teaching and learning in one-to-one environments look like?  When and how were the conditions for the new learning ecology realized in four core academic one-to-one classrooms? In addressing these questions, we wanted to describe the new learning ecology in one-to-one computing classrooms in terms of how teaching occurred in these environments. We purposively selected four teachers, one from each core content area, who had accepted the challenge of using technology in their teaching in the one-to-one computing environment that was new to their school. Following Yin’s (2012) approach to multiple-case design, the selection of four teachers in four different content areas was an attempt to replicate the potential of a new learning ecology across four cases. The four cases were bounded by curriculum content, the teachers’ pedagogies, and the uses of laptop computers in the classroom.

Yin (2012) also suggested that case selection is often theory-driven; therefore, we selected the cases based on the theoretical ideas featured in our early work on the new learning ecology (Spires et al., 2012). We were interested in determining the extent to which the teachers, who had all received previous training in oneto-one instruction, were facilitating a new learning ecology in their classrooms. The research project was situated in a southern Atlantic coast state in the US in a rural high school with 1,044 students and 59 classroom teachers. Fifty-two percent of the students were African American, 46% were Caucasian, and 2% were Hispanic. Forty-five percent of the students enrolled were on free or reduced priced lunch, placing the school about 10% higher than the state average in terms of the number of students enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program. Students were each given a laptop computer. Faculty had completed two professional development sessions for one-to-one computing in the classroom. To get a fuller picture of one-to-one computing in the school, we chose a teacher in each of the four main content areas—English, social studies, math, and science—to observe and interview. We collected data from observations of classroom activities, interviews with the teachers, and the analysis of teacher work materials. In total, we conducted 8 observations of the classrooms as well as 8 teacher interviews. All data were collected over a two-month period in early 2011. To ensure reliability, two observers completed observations. The observation instrument and interview protocol were developed from the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (Piburn, M., & Sawada, D., n.d.) and included a description of the classroom, descriptions of events, and related commentary. Interviews with all four teachers were conducted immediately following the observation sessions. The interviews included nine questions with follow up questions emerging during the interviews. Our data analysis consisted of scrutinizing our open-ended observations and resulting field notes as well as the data from the follow-up interview sessions. Analysis of teacher planning materials was also conducted as part of the process of confirming and disconfirming emerging findings. We coded the data using a priori coding categories consisting of the four conditions of the new learning ecology. The general condition of student dispositions was comprised of four elements and the general condition of teacher capacities was comprised of five elements as noted below (Spires et al., 2012):  Immediate and constant access to information and a global community  Intensity, relevance and personalization of learning  Self-directed, self-regulated, curious, and creative learners  Teacher as content expert, facilitator, consultant, mentor, and improvisationist We continued the analytical process using a method of selective coding which, according to Strauss and Corbin (1990), involves "selecting the core category, systematically relating it to other categories, validating those relationships, and filling in categories that need further refinement and development" (p. 116). In effect, we wanted to determine how teachers were meeting the conditions of the

new learning ecology as a way of making concrete the nature of learning in a one-to-one classroom. We identified themes that represented general trends or similarities among coded data. For example, we identified a tension between constant access to information and classroom management as we found multiple instances of observation and interview data describing classroom management activities that were coded for constant access to information. From the coded data, Yin’s (2012) method of pattern matching was used to determine the extent to which the new learning ecology was present in the four classrooms represented in the multiple cases. Additionally, a cross-case analysis was conducted in an effort to, as Yin (2012) describes, ―apply a replication logic in interpreting the findings across the cases in a multiple case study‖ (p. 17). This analysis sought to determine the factors influencing the existence of a new learning ecology in the classrooms. After compiling a full list of these factors, we collapsed them into five assertions, which are presented following the four cases.

The Cases This section presents cases of four teachers: Mrs. Perry, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Watson, and Ms. Austin. Each case describes how the teachers constructed learning experiences given the (a) one-to-one laptop computing activities present in the classrooms, and (b) potential of the new learning ecology as a theoretical framework for describing the interactions between teachers and students and their uses of laptops and information to achieve educational goals in the classroom.

Mrs. Perry, the Science Teacher Mrs. Perry was an experienced science teacher. She had been teaching for 34 years, and although this was her first year using laptops in the classrooms, she had been using computers as part of her instruction for many years. During the semester in which this study was conducted, Mrs. Perry taught three classes of biology. Students engaged in a wide range of computer-based activities. They completed virtual labs and interactive activities from Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) as well as SAS Curriculum PathwaysTM. Several of Mrs. Perry’s traditional hands-on dissection lab activities were being replaced with online virtual dissection. In general, Mrs. Perry was very receptive to the school’s one-to-one laptop program. She viewed the initiative as providing students with a unique opportunity to develop skills they would need for college and career. She valued the fact that the one-to-one laptop program gave her students access to information and saw that access as a way to encourage and motivate her students. In an interview, Mrs. Perry talked about access to information online as ―something that will spark them a little bit because some of [it] might be a bit dry too. Some of them might find an interest and relate to it.‖ However, Mrs. Perry also observed a difference in the way different students interacted with online information. In the same interview, Mrs. Perry described the unevenness of student experiences: ―The good students like self-direction and are willing to take that extra step. The weaker students, I don’t see doing anything better from using the computers.‖

Mrs. Perry sought to accommodate her students’ deficiencies in technical skills by creating differentiated instructional plans. In her third period regular biology class, Mrs. Perry assigned students a project to research each stage in the cell cycle. Students were allowed to prepare their report using notecards or by creating a tri-fold brochure using Microsoft Publisher. Students used the Internet to gather information from various resources and find pictures and video links, and they also used their textbook as a resource. Six students used notecards and books while the remaining 15 students used computers and the Internet. While she identified a specific need for this instructional differentiation, Mrs. Perry also thought there were larger issues at work that limited some students as they worked in one-to-one computing learning environments. As she put it, ―We’ve all been led to believe that all the students in this day and age are very technology savvy, but we have a lot of students that are not that savvy.‖ In another lesson, some students were having difficulty creating graphs with Excel so Mrs. Perry thought an online program would assist students with graphing. She quickly discovered that students were not able to adjust the scales on the axes in the program, and thus the online program was not helpful after all. Mrs. Perry’s use of the online tool to replace Excel, which had been used to replace a paper and pencil graphing exercise, ended up being more of a distraction than an instructional benefit. Despite the limitation, Mrs. Perry was often optimistic in her talk about using technology. In one interview, Mrs. Perry described an advantage of the computers is that they allow students to collect information about science-related topics on their own and provide a more efficient means to access resources: Can we do this without computers? Yes, we can go to the library to look up the information. If they did find something that was interesting and they wanted to research further, it is much easier to do it on the computer. I like the computers. I think it is a great thing for the kids. In one activity representative of Mrs. Perry’s approach to research, she engaged the class in a lesson designed as a ―seek and find‖ activity focused on health and disease. Students selected a particular disease and found out more about its causes and how the causes related to internal and external factors. Students engaged in animated discussions as they shared the video clips and images they had found with each other. Overall, the activity worked because the use of technology (online searching and retrieval of visual content) was limited and specifically aimed at supplementing other class activities. Mrs. Perry was able to work around constraints that limited her in other activities. In this activity, students were able to work together, thereby limiting the negative effects of some students not having computers. Students’ analysis of the visual, the most important part of the exercise, was not dependent on a technical skill that had to be applied while using the computer. Connectivity remained a concern for this activity, but was not a limitation.

Essentially all of the one-to-one activities in Mrs. Perry’s classroom involved moving existing classroom activities to use on computers with little if any change in learning objectives or pedagogy. In some cases, the moves brought little transformative value while introducing the downside of students needing to learn new technologies. More successful was leveraging the online information web and modeling and simulation tools that required little overhead in learning how to use. These web-based tools were still used to mimic activities that originally took place largely in the library or lab but expanded opportunities and resources with little logistical downside. Somewhere in between these two extremes were activities such as the ―seek and find‖ activity that served as an effective replacement to off-line work, but required new skills and dispositions that students had not yet mastered. Mrs. Perry was able to use this activity and others like it as a context to support the development of her students’ online literacy skills. The new teaching capabilities highlighted here did not involve new teaching approaches so much as an emerging improvisation around providing alternate lessons for the frequent Internet outages or students without computers.

Mr. Thomas, the Mathematics Teacher Mr. Thomas was a young, energetic teacher who recently completed his undergraduate degree in mathematics education at a university not far from the rural county high school where he was employed as a full-time mathematics teacher. Mr. Thomas taught two sections of Geometry and one section of Algebra. During professional development workshops and as part of his undergraduate experience, Mr. Thomas was exposed to a variety of different content-specific technology tools, including The Geometer’s Sketchpad, graphing calculators, clickers, and curricula for mathematics, such as SAS Curriculum Pathways. In his teaching, Mr. Thomas regularly used wikis and a classroom management system called Schoolview to monitor what students were doing on their laptops during class. Mr. Thomas felt like his classes were, in some ways, positively affected by the introduction and integration of one-to-one laptop computing in his classroom. He pointed out that, after receiving their laptops, students appeared to be more engaged during class. He also noted that some students were taking the initiative to do research as well as looking online to find different methods for solving problems and to learn more about the mathematical ideas they were studying. However, Mr. Thomas mostly talked about access to online information in the classroom as an ancillary type of experience. ―Having constant available Internet access does kind of help them out. There have been random days where I think okay.‖ Mr. Thomas was not convinced that the one-to-one initiative was fundamentally altering his instruction given the content he taught. He described this in an interview: ―I was so excited about doing all the WebQuests with them. But then again it’s a math class, there’s only so much you can do with it.‖ Mr. Thomas saw himself as guiding students toward knowledge. He described this approach as such: When I teach my kids I’m not like 2+2 is… Some teachers I’ve had in the past just talk like that at you. So, I think I kind of coach them through the problem, and a good example of that is when

my kids go home and do homework. They say this was tough, but when I go over it, it seems so easy because you just go over and explain it. Despite his reluctance to fully embrace technology in his teaching, Mr. Thomas described himself as a ―techie‖ and noted that he was using a tablet PC during his first year of teaching even before the school implemented one-to-one laptops in the classrooms. With the implementation of one-to-one laptops, he was beginning to seek creative ways to use technology to motivate and teach students. The most prominent shift for Mr. Thomas regarded the manner in which he supported students as they worked individually on math problems. Mr. Thomas said the biggest benefit of one-to-one computing was his ―ability to walk around the classroom‖ where he could ―focus on students one-on-one.‖ During one class, he created a review game for students using his own Microsoft Xbox gaming system. During another class, Mr. Thomas created a Geometer’s Sketchpad sketch that contained different polygons and a sequence of questions for students to answer related to finding the length of a side, the perimeter, and area of different polygons. Even with these in-class experiences, Mr. Thomas most often talked about the use of laptops outside of his classroom. ―Some of them have taken the initiative [with laptops] when they go home or if they have a little free time they will go and find other ways of doing a math problem or research something.‖ Mr. Thomas had a direct pedagogical stance that was not enabling of the sort of self-directed learning featured in the new learning ecology. He described the limitations of self-directed learning on laptops in terms of time and student knowledge. ―In algebra I can’t afford to lose five minutes. I’m not going to lie and I’m not trying to talk bad about students but you have to spoon feed them.‖ He also saw limitations to technology integration in his discipline. ―The quadratic formula is a long process. That’s just pencil and paper. Grind it out.‖ The one-to-one laptop computing environment provided opportunities for Mr. Thomas to assess and monitor formatively what his students were learning. He used clickers to ask questions and immediately gather information about students’ understanding, used Schoolview to see what students were doing on their computers as they worked, and walked around the classroom and interact with students while using a wireless tablet PC to post problems, notes, and solutions on a screen. Mr. Thomas also posted notes and assignments on a class wiki to provide students immediate access to the information discussed in class. He also encouraged students to submit all of their work electronically. This requirement helped Mr. Thomas with the management of paperwork and reduced the use of paper and the need for copiers. Mr. Thomas’ high comfort level with technology in his classroom helped empower him to investigate some new ways to use laptops, but he generally avoided the laptops in favor of more traditional paper and pencil or didactic pedagogies. While the mathematics content covered in the classroom stayed, out of necessity, close to the state-mandated course of study, his implementation of

some computer-based learning and assessment tools provided new approaches to teaching and learning this material. While Mr. Thomas did not draw widely from the information on the Web, he accessed tools and information specifically focused for the learning goals at hand, providing a more intense and personalized learning experience for his students. The use of technology-based formative assessment tools allowed him to improvise more strategically as he guided his students through the highly focused learning goals. When he did use the laptop technology, Mr. Thomas sought to use it in additive ways, demonstrating both creativity and adaptability in his pedagogy.

Mr. Watson, the Social Studies Teacher In his third year of teaching, Mr. Watson taught three classes of United States history. He had recently completed an undergraduate teacher education program in social studies education. Mr. Watson was an engaged teacher who eagerly adopted his school’s one-to-one laptop computing initiative. He viewed himself as a facilitator in the classroom, managing students’ work and providing context and direction when appropriate. As a young teacher, Mr. Watson was still developing his teaching personality and pedagogical beliefs. He expressed an openness to change, but at times he projected a traditionalist view about teaching. Mr. Watson characterized his teaching approach prior to the implementation of one-to-one computing as traditional, saying about a particular activity that ―it just would have been a lecture. Maybe an activity using the textbook.‖ As a one-to-one teacher, Mr. Watson was more expansive and inventive about his role in the one-to-one classroom. Mr. Watson described his teaching style as fluid, saying that he likes to ―move around [to] make sure that I’m looking at every kid’s computer so that I see they’re progressing and they’re not getting stuck, staying on one thing too long.‖ Evidence of this facilitative stance emerged in the classroom as well. In an activity where students were researching various protest techniques used in the United States over the last century, Mr. Watson carved out 50 minutes from a 60-minute lesson for students to work in groups to locate and analyze relevant information online and then construct a product representing what they learned. Mr. Watson supported this work in two ways: he rotated among the groups using informal and formative assessment strategies to encourage students’ progress, and he provided students with substantive content or clarifications about content. Mr. Watson was committed to using one-to-one laptop computing throughout his teaching. Although, Mr. Watson was enthusiastic about his new one-to-one pedagogies, he also identified challenges. One challenge concerned the management of students and their on-task behavior. Mr. Watson indicated that larger classes were more difficult to manage if the activities required individual or paired work. He said that for classes over 20-25, he tended to group students into groups of three or four. This enabled him to manage interaction with groups better and to provide assistance for all students. A second challenge regarded online information access. Like Mrs. Perry, Mr. Watson was concerned about the reliability of the computer infrastructure and his classes’ reliance on

network connections. He noted several times during the year when the network had been down or slow and how the resulting lack of access to information had limited the progress of students’ work. Even when the Internet connections were good, Mr. Watson was concerned about the quality of information his students accessed online. He attempted to manage his students’ work by setting expectations about what resources they could use in research activities. For example, he only allowed students to use Wikipedia if they coupled the Wikipedia reference with a second reference that corroborated the original information. Mr. Watson did not seek to limit access— just manage the critical quality of the information used. As Mr. Watson put it, ―There’s no resource they can’t access. Everything and anything they don’t know is on the Internet somewhere, and they can find it as long as they search for it correctly. They now can find whatever it is we’re working on and be much more creative.‖ Although Mr. Watson had a high level of acceptance for one-to-one laptop computing in his classes, some pedagogical conflicts emerged as a result of the school-wide shift to one-to-one computing. For one thing, Mr. Watson struggled with how to deliver lectures to students. He made use of a centralized system to control students’ laptops, so as to keep them from browsing the Web while he delivered a lecture. He also was struggling to find a way for students to take notes while he lectured. His approach was to give students outline notes with blanks that they would fill in as he talked. Mr. Watson’s use of one-to-one laptop computing to manage note-taking was at odds with his other more studentcentered pedagogies. For example, Mr. Watson implemented an activity on the Cold War where students created video-based examples of propaganda. In the activity, he took the position of a facilitator, and in some ways, ceded content expertise to outside resources. Mr. Watson talked about how the one-to-one laptop environment had changed his responsibilities as a teacher. He saw the technology as enabling and expanding opportunities for students to be creative and inventive. ―[One-to-one computing] definitely changed project-based learning. You give them a computer and it’s easier to get materials together. There’s no resource they can’t access.‖ As with Mrs. Perry, Mr. Watson was able to use online information access to transform research projects that were previously completed in the library with limited resources. However, Mr. Watson struggled with both managing and empowering students’ online research activities—both in terms of helping them to assess what constitutes appropriate, high-quality material to utilize and prompting them to stay on task. Mr. Watson’s concern for management also extended to his use of the classroom management software, especially when he returned to a more teacher-centric lecturing approach. While the introduction of one-to-one computing forced a change in classroom pedagogy from a more teacher-centric lecture style to a more student-centric group project approach, it was unclear how much of this change was an existing desire by Mr. Watson facilitated by the technology or change imposed on him by the introduction of oneto-one computing. Mr. Watson made minor adjustments to existing activities

when leveraging computer technologies. As such, it was unclear whether enhanced student dispositions and teacher capacities were being fully realized through this transitional period. The change to one-to-one engendered some healthy reflective tension in Mr. Watson’s teaching that led to continued creative problem solving on his part.

Ms. Austin, the English Language Arts Teacher Ms. Austin was an ambitious and high-energy English language arts teacher. When this study was conducted, Ms. Austin taught 11th grade literature and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Achievement), where she consistently incorporated one-to-one laptop computing in her teaching. As an early adopter of one-to-one computing in her school and in the state where she teaches, Ms. Austin saw herself as being in a unique position to challenge some of the expected conventions about teaching her subject. She often took positions that were counter to the status-quo in favor of the use of computing in the classroom. Her views on social networking illustrated this forward and sometimes nonconventional thinking: I think they make it seem as if social networking is this big be-allend-all downfall of everybody. But I think that it doesn’t necessarily have to be all bad and that connecting in here with my kids will be a positive thing, a learning experience for them and me, and that eventually we can communicate with other people that have different experiences than what we have here, and that social networking being a positive thing, that was something new. Ms. Austin went on to describe how she had worked to overcome barriers to social networking in her school: ―That was something that I had to explain to the tech people, because a month into this you created this great social networking site, and I get on it one morning trying to get some stuff added on, and it’s blocked.‖ At the same time, Ms. Austin was often cautious and quick to point out potential pitfalls or limitations to using one-to-one laptop computing in her classes. She described immediate and constant access to information a double-edged sword: ―It’s good because we can use it for classroom instruction. It’s negative in some ways because there’s still some people around here that maybe aren’t being monitored the way they should, that are using it for not the correct purposes and they’re slowing down and bogging down the whole system.‖ However, on balance, Ms. Austin seemed to value the access to information that one-to-one computing affords. ―Before, we were very limited as to what we could do because we have very few resources that we all shared with two or three people, so now that’s all right there. Also we can find out things that are very current. And that’s important for the kids because they can find it out right then.‖ Ms. Austin sought out a middle ground between the transformative nature of one-to-one computing and the centrality of the teacher in the classroom. Ms. Austin was reluctant to argue that the laptop computer would alter the relationship between teacher and student. ―From day one, my kids walked in the door

and because they knew me, it didn’t matter that that computer was in their hand. They knew that they weren’t going to touch that business until I said.‖ Mr. Austin insisted that she would be in control of students’ use of technology, both in terms of their physical access to the technology and in terms of how students’ used online information and technology tools. In talking about how her teaching had changed with the introduction of one-to-one computing, Ms. Austin said, ―So that stayed the same—the structure has stayed the same. I think that what has changed was that we have a lot more information at our fingertips.‖ In her teaching, Ms. Austin attempted to balance one-to-one laptop computing by maintaining control over the learning environment. One activity that reflected this careful balance was her focus on student writing. In one of these activities, students wrote a letter to Ms. Austin using a specific format and audience. She provided very specific guidance to students regarding how they would use computers. ―So, today we’re going to write a letter. On the board I have put some things that I would like you to include in this letter. So you may as well just spread your bodies out and type, type, type away.‖ This activity and the introduction to the work provided by Ms. Austin were interesting because of the distance she put between the work and the technology. The laptops were background tools designed to support an activity that was decidedly removed from the specific forms and conventions of technology-enabled writing. Ms. Austin seemed to be enthusiastic about one-to-one laptop computing and even aspirational regarding prospects of the technology, but she often took a decidedly traditionalist stance on instructional activities. Her position on a writing assignment highlighted this traditionalist stance. ―I think because I am a little bit old-fashioned, I still want to see their handwriting. I still want to see that spell check is not what helped them write that word correctly.‖ Ms. Austin was not willing to jettison traditional approaches to teaching reading and writing. ―I think that some writing will still have to be done on paper. And even some of the kids have mentioned, why can’t we do it the old fashioned way? What was wrong with that? If it wasn’t broken, why do we have to fix it?‖ Ms. Austin struggled with the changes that immediate and constant access to information through the one-to-one laptop environment brought to the classroom. Her concerns were related in part to classroom management, but more than some of the other teachers, she also struggled with how to leverage these new capabilities and tools into way that reflected less of a teacher-centered dynamic. This was reflected in her optimistic hope for social networking tools to help transform her classroom practice. However, this embracing of new technologies often came in conflict with deeply held beliefs about what constitutes appropriate instructional strategies in the classroom. In many ways, Ms. Austin’s response to one-to-one computing centered more on ubiquitous access to information and the potential for students to develop their capacities with new tools, than on transforming her teaching.

Discussion The cases reported here suggest that teachers engaged a range of negotiated actions as they searched for ways to situate one-to-one computing in their teaching. Although these teachers used computers differently in their classes, from the computer as a tool to support existing practice to using the computer as a hub for learning activities, there were important consistencies regarding the nature of the learning ecology that emerged in these classrooms. In this section, we highlight prominent themes from the new learning ecology framework that were represented in the data. Our analysis suggested that across the four classrooms, immediate and constant access to information was the most prevalent condition. The students and teachers had immediate and constant access to information since they all had Internet access and laptops; however, the four teachers leveraged that access in very different ways. The teachers in this studyMrs. Austin (English), Mr. Thomas (math), Mr. Watson (social studies) and Mrs. Perry (science) demonstrated their capacities as content experts, facilitators, consultants, mentors and improvisationists in different ways and in an uneven manner. The other two conditions, intensity, relevance, and personalization of learning as well as highly developed student dispositions (students as self-directed, self-regulated, curious, and creative) were less evident across the four teachers’ classrooms, but important in unique ways. The following four assertions describe in more detail these findings as culled from data across the four cases.

Teachers Manipulated Immediate and Constant Access To Information Given Their Epistemological Stances Internet-based access to information affected teaching and learning experiences in the four classrooms and in many ways reflected the teachers’ beliefs about knowledge. The science teacher, Mrs. Perry, and social studies teacher, Mr. Watson, developed activities that involved students accessing information from the Internet to develop projects and conduct research. Both teachers were willing to facilitate their students’ access to information even when that information included conflicting or even contradictory knowledge. These teachers enabled their students to construct knowledge using a wide range of acceptable sources. Their use of Internet resources was consistent, but not without problems. Both teachers worried about the reliability of their access to the Internet. They also confronted issues related to organizing students’ work, insuring all students had laptops, and helping students make critical use of online information. Both teachers developed pedagogical approaches to accommodate for these issues so they were able to continue the use of online information in the classroom. In contrast, the math teacher, Mr. Thomas and Ms. Austin, who taught English, were less likely to incorporate immediate and constant access to information in their classrooms. They tended to view online information as protean and a potential source of distraction from the fixed knowledge featured in their instruction. Both teachers saw Internet access as a way to extend the learning experience outside the classroom as opposed to inside the class. Mr. Thomas and Ms. Austin both developed class wikis and presented content online to facilitate homework assignments, but rarely incorporated such technology in class. Mr.

Thomas did use Geometry Sketchpad, a student-centered computer software program for learning mathematics, but only in situations that he considered low-stakes – i.e., classes with no mandated state end-of-course of tests. Ms. Austin also leveraged social networking tools to facilitate and extend conversations with students, but limited the use of these tools to activities outside of class. These two distinctly different approaches to accessing online information reflected the teachers’ general pedagogical dispositions as well as their beliefs about knowledge. Mrs. Perry and Mr. Watson tended to provide their students with more project-based and personalized learning opportunities. Both teachers saw themselves as facilitators and were willing to cede some knowledge authority to outside resources and materials. However, both teachers were also concerned about how their students used critical skills when accessing online resources. Mrs. Perry worried about her ability to properly review materials that her students were accessing and used a system of informal and formative assessment to monitor students’ online resource use. Mr. Watson developed specific rules for his students’ use of online content from Wikipedia, requiring corroboration for any Wikipedia source. In both cases, the teachers were moderating their students’ uses of materials, but were also recognizing multiple sources of information and to develop understandings from these materials. These teachers’ epistemology was more flexible than traditional teacher stances on knowledge, which have viewed the teacher (or a teacher proxy in the textbook or other materials) as authoritative sources of knowledge. Mr. Watson’s use of questions signaled his epistemological beliefs. In one activity he used questions to open the door for students to develop knowledge about Soviet propaganda. ―You’ve seen propaganda in photographs, and now you’ve just seen Soviet propaganda [films] about the Soviets and the Cold War. What did you notice about the film? What do you notice about the claims?‖ Mr. Watson did not answer his questions. Instead, he had students conduct research, viewing additional propaganda films and conducting analysis, and then producing their own propaganda films while applying what they had learned. Mrs. Perry took a similar approach toward knowledge. When working with students in online research projects, Mrs. Perry also posed questions and consistently emphasized the importance of students creating their own meaning and learning from these experiences. As she put it when talking about an activity focused on disease; ―get them to figure out which [diseases] would be more likely to affect them in their lifetime and how they might change their lifestyle right now to prevent them from having problems later.‖ Mr. Thomas and Ms. Austin were not as willing to take the open epistemological stances that Mrs. Perry and Mr. Watson took. Mr. Thomas, who taught mathematics, had a direct pedagogical approach that was predicated on a more traditional epistemological stance. In his description of the differences between students’ self-directed learning in mathematics and his guidance of student learning, Mr. Thomas argued, ―when my kids go home and do homework they say this was tough, but when I go over it, it seems so easy because you just go over and explain it.‖ Mr. Thomas saw himself as in possession of knowledge and his

teaching tasks as involving the communication of that knowledge to his students. These beliefs about knowledge seemed to limit Mr. Thomas’ willingness to intercede the laptop computers between himself, as dispenser of knowledge, and the students as recipient of that knowledge. Ms. Austin took a similar stance on knowledge. Ms. Austin, when explaining her pedagogical beliefs, also took a traditional position on knowledge. She coupled a desire to guide students with firm beliefs about the forms within which students should express themselves. In commenting on writing, Ms. Austin called herself, ―old fashioned.‖ For example, with regard to writing Ms. Austin wanted to, as she put it, ―see that spell check is not what helped them write that word correctly.‖ Instead of viewing knowledge as fluid and subject to negotiation, Mr. Thomas and Ms. Austin had firm beliefs about not only what students should know, but also the shape that knowledge should take, and how students should learn these fixed bodies of knowledge. Laptop computers operated on the periphery of the learning activities where Mr. Thomas and Ms. Austin most carefully applied their traditional epistemological beliefs.

Highly Effective Teacher Dispositions Shifted Given Instructional Contexts Of the five conditions for highly effective teaching theorized in the new learning ecology (content expert, facilitator, consultant, mentor, and improvisationist), none stood out as a prevalent method. Instead, specific dispositions were prevalent given specific conditions of the one-to-one computing environment in the classroom. Teacher dispositions were conceptualized in this research as holistic belief systems that would emerge in tandem with other conditions in the new learning ecology, and, in fact, we found evidence that these beliefs and dispositions took form unevenly among all four teachers. These dispositions were context driven, with teachers shifting very quickly along a range of dispositional attitudes. For example, Ms. Austin talked about being a facilitator, or as she put it a coach, and an improvisationist. I still think my time in here is still divided 50/50 and with the computer time I’m a coach and I’m helping and I’ll get on the same play or page, and then on the other side of it I’m an improvisational artist because I’m always dancing and singing and being on stage up here. Ms. Austin wanted her dispositions to emerge in contexts. In the one-to-one context, she viewed herself as a helper and a motivator. In this context, the central classroom focus was on individual students, and Ms. Austin provided support or facilitation to get students to the same learning goal, or as she put it the same ―page or play.‖ In whole class settings, where Ms. Austin was the focus of attention, she saw her role shift to an improvisationist who was drawing on a wide range of personal skills to maintain students’ focus. But, when she played the part of an improvisationist, Ms. Austin was less reliant on technology. Mr. Thomas expressed similar shifting dispositions given the context. For example, his approach to teaching with Geometer’s Sketchpad highlighted the way in which he moved back and forth across these dispositions. ―With Sketchpad,

every kid can work at their own pace. A lot of them say I talk a lot and I do. I want to do it like they do in college and in college they give lecture. With Sketchpad I can walk around and help every student, which I haven’t been able to do a lot of in the past.‖ Mr. Thomas deliberately shifted his teaching disposition to facilitator when teaching with Geometer’s Sketchpad. These opportunities to facilitate his geometry students learning were mostly driven by the testing context for his geometry class. As Mr. Thomas explained, the lack of a test provided an opportunity to teach differently. When talking about how his teaching has changed since the start of the one-to-one laptop initiative, Mr. Thomas explained. Algebra two has stayed a lot the same. I haven’t changed my formal lecture but I’ve only been teaching two years. The geometry has changed a lot because of Sketchpad. I did Sketchpad in college and I was able to do that a lot with my regular geometry group and a lot with this group because they’re in progressive geometry where I don’t have the [End of Course Test]. The use of Geometer’s Sketchpad in Mr. Thomas’ class facilitated multiple approaches to solving geometry problems, meaning students needed to be more self-reflective as to the quality of the approach and solution they generated while attempted to demonstrate or prove properties of geometric forms such as triangles. As with the personalization of learning, the teachers in this study sought to balance their role by maintaining some control over the instructional processes. Mrs. Perry and Mr. Watson tended to enable students’ independent learning more through motivation, while also providing examples and direction toward attainable learning goals. The ubiquitous, constant access to information and a greatly expanded array of software tools enabled Mrs. Perry and Mr. Watson to carry on a parallel expansion of facets of instruction they could engage in. For example, Mrs. Perry faced challenges in supporting students on the use of sophisticated software tools, but found better luck in supporting more transparent software tools and information sources, where she could focus on supporting knowledge building around core science concepts. In sum, all four teachers strategically shifted their pedagogies between direct or teacher-centered approaches and student-centered approaches.

Teachers Used a Form of Pedagogical Triage in the One-To-One Classroom In a new learning ecology, constant and immediate access to information as well as self-directed, curious, and creative learning, should in theory support increased relevance, personalization, and intensity in learning. Instead, the one-toone environment in the four classrooms featured in this study encouraged teachers to personalize their instruction through the sorting and prioritizing of student’s needs, something we viewed as a type of pedagogical triage as opposed to personalization as instructional transformation.

All four teachers expressed strategic tensions between the potential of the technology to individualize student instruction, while also ―keeping them on track.‖ In contrast to relevance and intensity, which the teachers and learners were able to realize as a whole group, personalization required a distinction in individual learning that was difficult to attain. The teachers actually used technology tools to control individual departures from class norms. Teachers were interested in helping students, as Mrs. Perry put it, ―find an interest and relate to it,‖ but specific adaptations at the individual level were rare. Teachers tended to address issues and conditions at the class level as opposed to the personal level. For example, the uneven availability of computers caused teachers to differentiated instruction based on whether a student had a laptop to use. At other times, teachers developed alternative lesson plans based on whether the Internet would be working. The teachers also modified activities based on computing skills or the availability of specific resources online. In these instances, the teachers were presented with the challenge of flexible instruction as something to contend with rather than something they voluntarily embraced. Consequently, the teachers in this study were performing a sort of triage where student learning conditions that served as impediments to learning were assessed and teachers’ actions were meted out based on the teacher’s perceived priority of needs. Classroom management software provided by the district was one tool deployed by these teachers, as was the low-tech solution of walking around the room and observing what was on the students’ screens. When teachers identified students either off-task or in need, they provide personal assistance, but rarely enable personalized learning opportunities. Some of the teachers also realized that formative assessment would be a key tool to gauge the outcomes of these more individualized approaches to assignments, but instead used formative assessment in this process of triage and conditional pedagogical response.

Teachers Struggled to Manage Information Flow in the Classroom The teachers in this study incorporated a variety of strategies when dealing with problems and opportunities that emerged from their constant and immediate access to information and the changing conditions for learning. Two of the teachers, Mrs. Perry and Mr. Watson, provided students opportunities to access information online during class, but used different strategies to manage students’ uses of that information. Mrs. Perry saw her efforts to provide students access to information as replacing existing analog approaches to using information in science classes. However, she struggled to provide students consistent experiences both as a result of students’ limited technology skills and due to hardware and technology infrastructure limitations. Mr. Watson took a more ambitious position. He created new learning experiences with online information for his students that were no possible offline and then tried to develop new instructional strategies for managing his students’ uses of online information. Mr. Watson created rules about what types of information could and could not be used (e.g. Wikipedia) and created research activities that necessitated stu-

dents’ use of online information. However, Mr. Watson remained uncomfortable with his strategies. Mr. Thomas and Ms. Austin did not regularly provide their students with opportunities to access online information in class. Both teachers thought that students accessing information during class would be a distraction, but for different reasons. Mr. Thomas saw student access to online information as disrupting his ability to maintain instructional control over the delivery of content. Ms. Austin was concerned about limited academic value of the information students would access, being mainly social constructed information. However, they both saw value in supporting students’ uses of online information out of class. Mr. Thomas appropriated and adapted wikis to support his didactic teaching style, while Mrs. Austin used network tools to encourage traditional literacy skills. The uniqueness of the teachers’ experiences given that the original notion of the new learning ecology emphasized personalization in learning points to the need for some clarification in the original ideas, specifically with regard to highly developed teacher capacities. Additional work should seek to determine how teachers personalize their pedagogies when the teaching and learning ecology shifts in order to gauge a variety of paths to transformational teaching and learning.

Conclusion, Limitations, and Future Research Two general conclusions emerged from the analysis of data collected for the cases. First, the teachers appeared to mediate the new learning ecology given their beliefs about knowledge. Mr. Thomas and Ms. Austin believed that teachers should be the primary sources of authority of knowledge in the classroom. Mrs. Jones and Mr. Watson had more open epistemologies, valuing a wider range of sources for knowledge. The teachers’ general pedagogical beliefs about managing the classroom framed a second general conclusion, which suggested that the extent to which the teachers were willing to provide some authority to students to regulate their learning influenced the ways in which the new learning ecology presented itself. Mr. Watson and Ms. Jones were willing to hand over more authority to students, both in terms of knowledge construction and in terms of how activities played out in their classroom. Given the nature of the new learning ecology as facilitating student learning that is self-directed, self-regulated, curious, and creative, Ms. Jones’s and Mr. Watson’s classrooms came closer to realizing the theorized new learning ecology. This study made use of data collected within a small number of classrooms over a relatively short period of time. Future work will need to scale this investigation in both time and space—following a similar group of teachers longitudinally over a year or longer to see how their instructional practice and student behaviors continue to evolve (or not) and to expand the investigation to more schools and districts. Such work would help to generalize the findings of this multi-case study and further refine both the commonalities and differences in challenges faced by different disciplines as they grapple with the new learning ecology.

This study emerged from an ambitious idea that teaching and learning in the new learning ecology will enable constant and immediate access to information; personalized learning; advanced learner dispositions; and highly developed teacher capacities. This research responded to the need for establishing theoretically grounded practices within school-based one-to-one programs. Given the amount of resources (both time and money) that are being invested across the nation, as well as the hopes that are raised in terms of potential educational benefits of one-to-one environments, it is essential that we think deeply and strategically about one-to-one teaching and learning, including thoughtful considerations for theoretical grounding. The cases presented here suggest that although conditions of a new learning ecology are evident within one-to-one learning environments, they may be more nuanced and contextualized than we understood when theorizing our original idea (Spires et al., 2012). The Knight Commission (2009) report highlighted the dramatic changes in ways we use and share information in the current digital age. As school systems respond to these changes with one-to-one laptop computing initiatives, educators will need to carefully evaluate the contexts of these educational innovations. This research is one such effort toward better understanding of how one-to-one laptop computing can enhance teaching and learning in the 21st century.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 102-127, March 2015.

The Impacts on the Educational Landscape ahead the Free Internet Offers, Traps and Surveillance that Threatens the Safety and Privacy on the Web Rogerio L. Roth Ca' Foscari University of Venice Venice, Italy

Abstract. The current educational landscape – pedagogically and technologically sound – has been undergoing several changes, mostly on what concerns the common sense in personal and institutional exposure, content and file sharing. The lack of knowledge about security and privacy besides the different ways of virtual learning environments does not guarantee a new approach or innovation. On the other hand, the adoption and effective use of fads without a previous context of experimentation, testing, protection and logic of use can bring different results of the expected negatively impacting the use of technologies to support the education. Keywords: e-resources, oversharing, privacy, rereading, security

Looking to the future: Breaking the links with the recent past This is not a cliché, or even the Back to the Future trilogy of science fiction adventure films written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, but to rethink education in terms of current and future technological possibilities involves experimentation, practice and feeling. Where to go? Given the diversity of scenarios and options – free or paid, open or proprietary, local or cloud, domestic or foreign – the decision-making process should take into account something more than just the omnipresent costs. Items such as security and privacy of information should be considered essential. Many prominent people are recognized more for their eventual errors and failures than by their great achievements. It is not easy to predict the future with 100 percent certainty. What to say when the bets are related to the future of the education area, so resilient, tough, conservative and averse to changes... The recent past has brought us a virtual massification of academy, often without any quality or even interaction that should be mandatory in times of Web 2.0. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Regarding to the behaviour on the Internet, of individuals and institutions – including educational, we witnessed the rebirth of pretentiously moderns, dazzle, boring and invasive. “But I have everything on my plex. My diaries, my homework, my music, my books – my whole life!” (Marshall & Gaviola, 2011). This paper is part of the results from the research “Building an Immersive Distance Learning Experience beyond Massive Open Online Courses with Web Conferencing, Socratic Method, Problem-Based Learning and Social Networks” funded by the CAPES foundation, Ministry of Education, Brazil. Security, privacy, and responsibility are themes that consistently and recurringly are brought to the forefront – reported here to the different Internet uses. Several universities and students do not see limits, to expose themselves (oversharing) on social networks. Likewise, it seems to lack common sense in adopting different service models offered in the cloud computing, as well as Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS) and Software as a service (SaaS) solutions such as Google Apps. Some services apparently are free of charge, but there is always a price to pay for everything. For many decades now, Microsoft has been criticized for its predatory monopolistic practices. Google is currently under the spotlight as well. On the April 1, 2014 the Gmail email service (Google Mail) completed 10 years (“Gmail,” 2004), (“Gmail,” 2014). The date always refers to the celebration of April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day – especially in Australia, Brazil, Canada, United States and Europe (“April Fools' Day,” 2013). For Brazilians, the April 1 has several interpretations, it also reminds the military revolution that occurred on this day in 1964 – and the harsh years that followed. Interventions such as this are typical of the technique of a coup d'état, that the CIA has developed and applied in Brazil, artificially radicalizing the social struggles to the point of causing the imbalance in the political and destabilize governments (spooling actions), who did not submit to the strategic guidelines of the United States – who deny responsibility and complicity with the coup (plausible denial), standard by which American governments was characterized many times their intervention policies in other countries (Bandeira, 2004). “Friday, April 3, 1964 – 12:06 p.m. Thomas Mann: I hope you're as happy about Brazil as I am. Lyndon B. Johnson: I am. I think that’s the most important thing that's happened in the hemisphere in three years. Lyndon B. Johnson: I hope they give us some credit, instead of hell.” (Beschloss, 1997). Interpretations and historical events aside, we all (Gmail users) can be victims of this stigma. Are we fools to use the Gmail and its associated tools from Google? What is the price we pay for the use of these “free of charge” offers? © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Ribble (2014) states that, “…Gmail was not the first of its kind. In fact, it was a relative latecomer to the webmail party. Gmail's objective was not to create a totally new way of communicating, but to make radical improvements to the existing webmail model. And the last ten years leave little doubt that they've succeeded.” They really managed to do “radical improvements”, ranging from the absurd to the unbelievable, verifiable in a judicial documentation of 30 pages, when Google acknowledged that Gmail users have no “reasonable expectation” that their communications are confidential. Its users do not have complete privacy (Rushe, 2013). That suit, filed in May (2013), claims: “Unbeknown to millions of people, on a daily basis and for years, Google has systematically and intentionally crossed the 'creepy line' to read private email messages containing information you don't want anyone to know, and to acquire, collect, or mine valuable information from that mail.” To John Simpson (Rushe, 2013), Consumer Watchdog's privacy project director, “Google has finally admitted they don't respect privacy”, emphasizing that, those who want some security or privacy, should not use Gmail. The document came to light at a time when Google and other technology companies (AOL, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Paltalk, Skype, Yahoo and YouTube) try to explain the role they play in mass surveillance practiced by the National Security Agency (NSA) over citizens of the United States and foreigners (governments, authorities and citizens) of several friendly countries, including France, Germany, Spain and Brazil. The denunciations of Snowden (2013), former technical expert of the Central Intelligence (CIA), occurred through the newspapers The Guardian (Greenwald, 2013) and The Washington Post (Gellman & Poitra, 2013), giving details of the information traffic carried through various surveillance programs, among them PRISM (2013) and XKeyscore (2013). According to the information published, it is possible (XKeyscore) to read the email content of any person in the world, just knowing the email address. Any website can be verified (inbound and outbound traffic). Any computer that a person uses on the Internet can be monitored. Any notebook can be traced – when accessing the Internet – while the user travels, to any part of the world. Snowden (2014) said (00:03:46,445 – 00:03:59,131): “Every time you pick up the phone, dial a number, write an email, make a purchase, travel on the bus carrying a cell phone, swipe a card somewhere, you leave a trace and the government has decided that it's a good idea to collect it all, everything, even if you've never been suspected of any crime.” (“Snowden Interview,” 2014).

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No new information. Snowden just proved what we all, in some way, already knew – that the control and manipulation of information have been used (by all parties) not only in times of declared war to change public opinion, to support certain actions of the rulers or even to contain the resilient and politically incorrect through the eyes of the dominant power. If someone travels to a different country (of their usual displacements – which are monitored) and try to access Gmail through a different way than webmail immediately has the access blocked, forcing the use of a mobile phone to receive an unlock code via SMS or voice message. Google keeps a record history of the used IP addresses and suspect whenever someone gets out of their “controlled” comfort zone. Some user requested this kind of “protection” or is it possible to disable? Not... (“Basics,” 2015), (“SMS from Google,” 2015). This kind of control – that not just Google does – seems to be meaningless for those who already transformed their life (personal/institutional) in an open book, updated and exposed 24 hours a day (Twitter/Facebook) in a sort of Big Brother (reality show). Probably, in search of their “fifteen minutes of fame” (Warhol, 1967)... Google or any other service provider paid or “free of charge” cannot be our PlexPad, not now; much less in the future (2149), (Terra Nova – Marshall & Gaviola, 2011). The year 2014 was prodigal in examples of lack of privacy and security for both users and institutions, including the lack of digital literacy. The incident of August – the biggest scandal of celebrity photo leaks already occurred – exposed a security hole of the Apple's iCloud service (“2014 celebrity,” 2014). Our lives can not be fully exposed and/or dependent on a single supplier. That way we will be allowing connections between the various services and providing more information than necessary – both for those hosts as well as for our personal and professional contacts. Also, we are going to be hostages of a particular company – under a certain government or country – and its policies, economic interests and technological failures. Eventually everything that goes to the cloud may be lost or even accessed by other people. If certain information is sensitive, secret or even intimate, the Internet and the vast majority of their gratis or paid services is certainly not the best place to store them. After all, nothing is forever. Google also taught us this. On Tuesday, September 30, 2014, the chronicle of a death foretold finally came true: Orkut is over (Orkut, 2014), (“Orkut Archive,” 2014). To Assange (2014), “Unlike intelligence agencies, which eavesdrop on international telecommunications lines, the commercial surveillance complex lures billions of human beings with the promise of 'free services'. Their business model is the industrial destruction of privacy. And yet even the more strident

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critics of NSA surveillance do not appear to be calling for an end to Google and Facebook.” This “business model” searches not only the destruction of privacy but also the end of anonymity and the end of freedom of opinion without reprisals. Who should not, does not fear? Who should not, should fear yes, and with good reason... WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, himself is the victim of the system, in the same way as all those who try to challenge the constructed and manipulated truths, that subsequently have become definitive and unquestionable evidences (“WikiLeaks,” 2011). But what options are available? Fance (2013) recognizes that Gmail can be one of the most popular services, but there are many people who feel that it is far from being the best. She cites some problems and points out how the most important justification is the fact of the Google scans each email message that is sent and received. This is done so that advertisers can better target users and display ads that are more relevant to them – although from a Gmail user’s standpoint, this is considered an invasion of privacy. If, for these reasons – or any other – someone wishes to stay away from Gmail/Google or simply wants to try something new, she lists ten major alternatives: Hushmail, Zoho, Mail.com, Outlook.com (replaced Hotmail), GMX, Facebook, Inbox.com, Yandex, Shortmail and Yahoo Mail. There are many other options in almost every country – the Internet is a sea of possibilities – and the major players seem to have servers located in the United States, China and Russia. On Wikipedia, for example, there is an extensive compilation and comparison of providers (“webmail providers,” 2014). Some people or institutions may want to not rely on Russian or Chinese services for several reasons. But what is the difference among staying under the surveillance of a Big Brother (Orwellian) American, Chinese, Russian, or any other controller? This text does not intend or even has the pretense of showing anti-Russian, antiAmerican or anti any other country. Nothing is intended against or in favor of any party. It only reflects the absurdities to which all were thrown, implicitly or explicitly, after Second World War, during the Cold War and the ideologicalpolitical bipolarization. What we thought we had stayed in the past seems more alive than ever. Impossible not to relate the current ubiquitous and pervasive practices to the dystopian novel 1984 (“Nineteen Eighty-Four,” 2010) written in 1949 by Eric Arthur Blair, or rather by his pseudonym “George Orwell”. The pseudonym has always been one of the forms of anonymity.

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Wilde (1891) through an assay and using a Socratic dialogue, stated that: “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” The Orwellian nightmare comes true. “Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up” Cameron, 2009). The anonymity nowadays is something pursued by all means and ways. On the Internet, due to the illusion that many have to be anonymous, the practice is verified even in discussion forums and/or opinion that, in a ubiquitous manner, require the use of an email of identification or affiliation to a social network – as if the two possibilities were not possible to be false and, thus, be possible to post a comment “anonymous”. How can we distinguish current practices to those verified in the middle ages? In a way, we live in a new “holy” inquisition, and witch hunts... Any difference even among the contemporary practices of the Gestapo, Kempeitai, NKVD, Stasi, SAVAK, KGB, MSE, FSB, OSS, DOPS, CIA, Mossad and similars? On behalf of a anti-terror paranoia systematically fed, the “Patriot Act” (“Patriot Act,” 2008), a fascist law that invades the privacy of any American citizen (with impacts throughout the world – at airports, for example), we can not create a state of exception, trample fundamental freedoms and constitutional rights in the alleged combat against an imagined – or created intentionally – “terrorism”... The new heretics – accused of heresy, piracy or terrorism – remain being all who are contrary to the established dogmas, those who question certain truths, considered as indisputable – created without evidence, logic or moral use – or even those who oppose to the opinions determined by certain dominant groups. No one is discordant in itself, and any founder or participant in any practice or behaviour that may be considered divergent – in a given historical period and social reality – nothing more is than someone who, from his own point of view, believed that he was moving in the correct path. The heterodox is classified this way just because someone invested with some sort of institutional power, rated its practice or its ideas as dissonant and contrary to an official orthodoxy that if self considers as the correct path (Barros, 2008, p. 125). There are no eternal facts, as there are no absolute truths (Nietzsche, 1908, p. 22). Both science, law and history are made of transitional truths. There are no thorough truths in every area of human knowledge, in constantly evolving, much less in our “official story”, the manipulated version of the facts that goes to the books. After all, the paper accepts everything and who writes, defines, govern or even judges do it according to his own bias of life, including his own prejudices as well as the maintenance and commitment to the current situation. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression? Scientists, jurists, rulers and serious historians, exempt, uncompromised and without fear of facing the status quo and the truths imposed?

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Galileo Galilei (2007) would have certainly divergent opinion about inquisitorial courts. The reality that prevails corrupts and marginalizes those who oppose the established truth, through the fear of rejection or ridicule, which makes many thinkers to remain hidden. Many actions of certain groups which, without options, try to survive the extermination what is imposed on them and the occupation of their territories – real or virtual – are erroneously classified as “terrorists”. This never can be compared with the widespread raids against civilian populations that began in Second World War and culminated with the attack with nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945). We have lost the moral. The true terror remains the actions of powerful states, primitive, warlike and pre-historic imperialisms; that have not learned lessons from the mistakes of the past and insist – through a path unilaterally imagined – in denying the right to self-determination of peoples, as well as impose their vision of the world to other cultures, most of the time ignoring the cultural diversity and ethnic minorities. On the Internet we can see that the attacks are not limited to “strategic” targets. In the case of Google actions, they are generalized. Beyond the control of the email contents we can realize an insistent and resilient way to induce and/or require the identification that matches completely to the policies adopted by this company which, often, is not shy to request additional information – another email, cell phone – to connect the dots. Consequently, it became a common practice, including banks, sending codes via SMS to confirm operations, as if cell phones could not be stolen. On the contrary, mobile phones can identify the exact location of the user – or anyone who uses his phone. Remoaldo (1998) points out that anonymity has always been an important feature of society. The need for its existence has been demonstrated over the years. It has been of great value to dissidents in countries with little or no freedom of expression, for the victims of violation and for people who might want to share their experiences without revealing their true identity. Without anonymity, these actions could result in the silencing of these people through censorship, physical aggression, loss of job, legal processes or even through murder. Many countries allow citizens to hide their identity as part of the right to privacy, since the acts are not considered illegal. Yet even this concept of legality varies according to a particular era or social situation (“Anonymity,” 2011). Wikipedia, for example, is written collaboratively mainly by authors who use unidentifiable pseudonyms or use only their IP address, some might even use identifiable pseudonyms or their real name (“Wikipedia: Anonymity,” 2014). The actions of Big Brother (Orwellian) can reach everyone and the current distrust of solutions providers on the Internet entails further the desire to remain anonymous. The full anonymity on the Internet is possible but not always © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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guaranteed, since IP addresses can be tracked and associated with a particular computer through which a message was sent or through which the contents of a website has been changed – without identifying a user directly. Identity masking services such as Deep Web (Tor, Freenet, I2P and others like Morphmix/Tarzan, Mixminion/Mixmaster, JAP, MUTE/AntsP2P and Haystack) hinder tracing, by using technologies of distributed computing and encryption (“Deep Web,” 2008), (“Tor Project,” 2002), (“Freenet Project,” 2000), (“I2P,” 2003). Another possibility is the use of a Virtual Private Network (“VPN,” 2013). Hoffman (2012) says that: “All the major search engines track your search history and build profiles on you, serving different results based on your search history.” He suggests five alternative search engines for those who are tired of being tracked: DuckDuckGo, Ixquick's Startpage, Ixquick, Blekko and Ask.com/AskEraser. He also reminds us that, to surf anonymously everywhere – with slower browsing speed – the best option is the Tor browser. The SlashGeek (“Anonymous,” 2012) recommends that not be used only the Tor (previously an acronym for The Onion Router). It indicates as the best choice to associate Tor with VPN: You-Tor-VPN or even You-VPN-Tor. Gives tips about VPNs, points out that the Google search engine should not be used and indicates the Firefox as the best browser (with the extensions Ghostery, NoScript and Adblock Plus). A device that promises total anonymity online in a simple, non-technical and inexpensive way ($51) is the Anonabox (2012), (“Anonabox,” 2015), and there is also a free turnkey solution for application-wide online privacy. It's called Tails (“Tails,” 2009) and it is a “live” operating system, developed from the Debian (Linux) and optimized for privacy, where all network data is routed through Tor network. Proxy servers can also be used (“Proxy,” 2010). There are different levels of proxy (web, caching, reverse, transparent, etc.) with different levels of protection and anonymity – enough to bypass the restrictions of websites even in countries where the Internet is censored or wars occur, to report the latest developments. These technologies allow the traffic to pass through another computer before communicating with the recipient, a different user's IP address. The Lizard Squad, group that presented itself as responsible for Christmas attacks (2014) to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live above all did so to demonstrate the incompetence of Sony and Microsoft to avoid these attacks (Pilkington, 2014). With the attack on the Tor, anonymous Internet service, the Lizard Squad (@LizardMafia) attracted even the wrath of Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) whose only concern is the privacy made possible by the Tor, which is used by © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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people around the world to navigate and communicate without having anyone else lurking their private activities (Smith, 2014), (Arce, 2014). The Tor project is one of the most effective sites for encrypted communication, becoming one of the most important Internet services in the world. Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden has used the service as well as many dissident movements and users – who are under the control of information – from countries such as China, North Korea, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Without wishing to create an axis of evil, where we are free? The Americans – and not only them – should seriously consider its use.

Trojan Horse In October 2006, Google allowed educational institutions to use the Google Apps service, which is now called Google Apps for Education (“Google for Education,” 2015), formerly Google Apps Education Edition. Google Apps for Education (“Apps for Education,” 2015) is free of charge and offers the same storage space that Google Apps for Work (“Apps for Work,” 2006), formerly Google Apps for Business. Seems to be an offer they could not refuse. But, even the success stories multiply; there has not been unanimity among the universities, even among the Americans (Whittaker, 2010). In the European Union (currently, 2015) checks are in progress to legally allow access to users' privacy and the right to be forgotten – a process that began in 2010 in Spain – as well as Google's business separation. All try curb the company's dominance in the Internet search market (Fioretti, 2014), (European Commission, 2014). Recurring issues of (lack of) privacy comes at a time when the company Google is also fighting for four years against an antitrust investigation (European Commission, 2010). Starting in the academic year 2008/09, Ca' Foscari (UNIVE) began using Google services, starting with Gmail by shifting the MX record of domain unive.it: IP address: 157.138.7.88 – Host name: unive.it MX aspmx.l.google.com MX alt1.aspmx.l.google.com MX alt2.aspmx.l.google.com MX aspmx2.googlemail.com MX aspmx3.googlemail.com source: http://network-tools.com/default.asp?prog=express&host=unive.it This initiative is initially observed in Ca' Foscari (2008, 26) (translated): “email @stud.unive.it – Starting from the academic year 2008/09 for all students has been prepared a mail box identified by registration@stud.unive.it. The mailbox, hosted by Google, has more than 7 GB of disk space. The initiative aims to improve the quality of communications to students, and from these to the University.” Later in Ca' Foscari (2012, 55) there is a reference (translated): “It is also expected that the migration to Google Apps for Education can encounter © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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some problems (not severe) relating to technical and/or organizational aspects” and one realizes that, even being a “free” offer from Google (without direct acquisition costs), the UNIVE paid (indirectly) for consultancy fees (translated): “Investment relating to consultancy for transition to the systems Google Apps for Education, Moodle and iTunes U.” Both Google, Moodle and Apple do not charge (directly) the use of their platforms by universities. But one day the invoice may arrive. Currently (academic year 2014/15), all Google Apps for Education services are available to faculty, staff, researchers (username@unive.it) and to students (registration@stud.unive.it). The authentication system of the University (translated): “To professors, employees, and researchers the email username@unive.it associated with the services Google Apps for Education; to students the email registration@stud.unive.it associated with the services Google Apps for Education;” (“autenticazione di Ateneo,” 2015): “Warning: although the new mail box is hosted by the Google operator is accessible exclusively by web address http://mail.stud.unive.it and not via www.gmail.com” (translated), (“account di posta studenti,” 2015). However the emails are explicitly exposed on the UNIVE website, ignoring the risks involved and abstaining from using, for example, JavaScript or images. Piotto (2014) said: “Use image instead since text email is forbidden by Italian law (legge Stanca 17/01/2004 about public administration sites accessibility). Use text like [dot] [it] or _AT_ help spammers (see http://techiebuzz.com/featured/tips-to-tackle-email-harvesting-spam.html). Use complex system like captcha, JavaScript, etc... help us to prevent spam but block Google indexing and reduce site's usability. We are a public service, @unive.it isn't a personal email (if you want a personal email use @gmail.com), our first goal is help students and users to find us (Google indexing is necessity, not a problem), no matter if we receive spam.” This position is simply absurd, and the same can be said with respect to all the arguments offered as a reason to not protect the emails. Currently all @unive.it accounts receive a reasonable amount of spams, higher than the verified in “normal” Gmail accounts already included in lists of spammers. This is due mainly for sewing the email lists to people from academic institutions (internal and external “clients”) that are made through offers sent to all account holders. I'm not referring to the absurd mailing lists (CIdE) that are created internally and, as always, shoot first, ask questions later (“Mailing List CIdE,” 2015). Why do we need an institutional email? To “prove” some affiliation? This type of account is one which we do not have full control, which is subject to the receipt of unsolicited messages – institutional or non – originating within the institution and that, most often, we lose access to all content and contacts when we move away, or are taken away.

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The UNIVE, on the flip side, provides a proxy server (“Proxy Settings,” 2015), proxy.unive.it (157.138.1.34:3128) that allows access to internal services – as if we are within the internal network, which includes email – and thus omit the location. The security issue also calls for proper attention and information from professors to students – at all levels – in exposing and demonstrating the risks as well as suggest alternatives – not only with regard to the overexposure. Diversifying the options we will be collaborating to create a society digitally a little more safe and just. The Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said at the UN that “…no one has a monopoly on truth and no one is now capable of tailoring global and regional processes to their own needs.” (Lavrov, 2014). This is a correct and consistent statement – albeit absurd, coming from Russia, who practices the opposite of speech, and recurrently, in the cases of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. Such a statement should even be applied to the Stalinist version of history – mostly related to the Second World War, whose events insistently have been changed and used in the wrong way (by all parties) and “Hollywood” that, in the absence of new military “victories” and in the face of repetitive failure verified later (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria) does not shy to distort the facts and explore the event, apparently, to the last drop: Fury, a Sony movie (Block & Ayer, 2014). This is not about watertight issues or problems unrelated to the entrenched reality in which many universities live. We live in a state of war, even when not declared, which includes all forms of surveillance, electronic attacks, cyberattacks and cyber terrorism; often sponsored by governments and sovereign states – democratic or not – or by independent groups. Angela Merkel (Germany) and Dilma Rousseff (Brazil) would have been only two, of the 35 world leaders monitored by the NSA (Rawlinson, 2013), (“Global surveillance,” 2013). According to Aymone (2014), provided that the complaints have been proven many Brazilian federal public universities have adopted various new safety standards, among them the use of own email servers, something that the majority of them had already made. Generally, there is a recommendation (DOU of 2014, October 17) so to adopt the “Guide to Good Practices on Hiring Information Technology Solutions”, of the Secretary of Supervisory Information Technology of TCU (SEFTI), to decrease the risks to which IT area is subject, especially with regard to the creation of service level agreements with the applicants areas and the holding of documentation of products developed by third party companies, for that they do not become hostages of the companies contracted, who hold the knowledge of the products developed, (“Guia,” 2012).

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The information leaks are not something inherent to the Internet or use of computers. It has always existed. And were not just spies of the “enemy” photographing secret documents. Most of the time it's friendly fire and the problem is at home – the leaks mostly originate from within the institutions. We slept with the “enemy” or heroes, depending on the observer's point of view... Scanning only made things easier and faster. And the Internet allowed for greater disclosure, that is, more people have access to information. WikiLeaks (2006) is an organization which publishes, on its website, posts from anonymous sources, documents, photos and confidential information leaked from governments or corporations, on sensitive issues. In Russia, the Kremlin is returning to typewriters – in an attempt to avoid leaks. It has already spent nearly $15,000 on the purchase of this “modern” equipment (“Kremlin,” 2013). The joke seems to be about to become literal also in Germany (Farivar, 2014). Secret information must, as its name implies, be kept secret. In the case of emails, the biggest problem is what we write and for whom. Unlike spoken words (that can be recorded) emails are written and identify (digitally) the origin and destination. They can and are used as evidence, even after our own death (e.g. Steve Jobs), (Ames, 2014). Certain words or expressions can classify any message as interesting or potentially dangerous to the eyes of the software spies who monitor the computers (locally or remotely). This is also true for all kinds of websites, including blogs and social networks. McAfee has related the search keywords more dangerous to scammers (Keats & Koshy, 2008). A given message will be stored at least in two places: on the sender and on the receiver. Where both sides keep copies of sent and received messages on their personal equipment as well as on their servers (cloud) the same message will be, at least, in four places. That is, it is sufficient to invade or have access to only one of the options to take ownership of all content, something that not just the NSA makes with perfection. There are several technologies to improve the security level of messages sent as the encryption and the use of certificates. But nothing is perfect. Just a password that is easy to break in order for this data to be accessed by anyone. The main thing is to use common sense in the contents and, even with respect to private messages, keep in mind that eventually the text will be accessed by others, even unauthorized, which may make different use of the information, including against us. The issue of security, for universities, should not be restricted to emails and own servers. To Roth (2014), should be assessed what options are available free of charge at this time – and it would be both technically and pedagogically usable. The focus would not be to fall into the discussion paid vs. free, but to speak out © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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on issues such as security and privacy. Given the current quality of free options (such as Google's package), it is an irresistible appeal to institutions, public and/or private, in lean times. But we should not make the same mistake of the Trojans. The end of anonymity, for example, does not mean any guarantee of the end of inappropriate content publication (Blum, 2014). The Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet – officially Law No 12.965, of April 23, 2014 – also guarantees the freedom of expression, but registers the possibility of compensation when there is a violation of the intimacy and private life (“Civil Rights Framework,” 2014). Moody (2011) described the regulatory Framework as a law “anti-ACTA”, in reference to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, widely criticized for restricting the freedom on the Internet and that was rejected by the European Union. Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, called it a “fantastic example of how governments can play a positive role in advancing web rights and keeping the web open” and called for other countries to follow suit of Brazil (McCarthy, 2014). The Internet is a reflection of the imperfect world in which we live and it has its good and bad points depending on how we use it. We can observe practices that may be, at the same time, considered right or wrong, depending on who the judges (status quo). Countries such as China, North Korea and Cuba, among others, are criticized by the second largest “democracy” in the world (USA) with regard to the control what they do about Internet access. Which country does not do the same (and not just on the Internet)?

Paddling against the tide With respect to content sharing, there are conceptual differences – and distorted – as well as various interpretations about the French expression droit d'auteur (authors' rights), (“Authors' rights,” 2014) and the Anglo-Saxon term copyright (right of copy), (“Copyright,” 2009). Wong (2013) compares the Chinese appropriation of western culture and the construction in the western imaginary of a China that represents the quintessential mimicry. She reveals that, the copy as learning method, common in arts academies worldwide, is part of Chinese culture and its pedagogy, linked to the thought of Confucius, to whom the copy is an exercise in humility. In 2004, responding to allegations of copyright violations, China's government argued that, thanks to the imitation skills of artists from Dafen (Shenzhen), consumers around the planet could have access to the world of great art. This point of view can be extrapolated to music and books. But why not apply this also to education, so that more people have access?

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The replication process as an instrument facilitating access to information and social change always comes up against the same issues. Some governments insist on the way of criminalization. Projects such as the PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act), (“PIPA,” 2011) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (“SOPA,” 2011) did not follow ahead. And the persecutions, the closure of some hosting services as well as the control of the search engines (“Chilling effect,” 2011) have not reached the expected results, as was expected. After all there are several other ways to share content, with greater or lesser exposure as well as the commitment of those who intend to do. The cases of Napster, Megaupload and The Pirate Bay are exemplary. After these services have been withdrawn from the air, the options – clones or similar ones – have multiplied exponentially. In times of shared economy the solution to the “problem” does not pass by this way: prohibit, prosecute and punish... The history has shown us that certain actions and/or positionings have different interpretations over time. We should learn more from our mistakes than from our accidental successes. There are notorious examples proving the opposite, full of discrimination of the most varied types: social class, belief, skin color, creed, disability, ethnicity, age, education, nationality, sexual orientation, political opinion, national origin, race, religion, sex or any other type. In the past, and occasionally nowadays, the discrimination was something explicit. In these politically correct times discrimination follows other models. Many people have already been barred or even lost jobs for them being exposed in social networks: their opinions, their preferences, their “friends”, their followers. The new generation are born under the illusion that there's freedom – at least on the Internet – and there is no dominant feeling in them, of doing something wrong, with respect to the information and data sharing, whether simple personal photos as well as music, movies and books of third parties. Considering that they are the future and who controls the world is always a dated issue – we all have a life limit – this difficulty will soon be outdated. The copy path as learning method can not be restricted to art schools (worldwide) nor be seen in a discriminatory manner as happens currently against the Chinese, in the same way as happened with the Japanese after the Second World War. Both gave us lessons that the copy process always has a cost and there always occurs some appropriation of content by who performs... Does not fit here discuss the rights of the author or copy, but if a particular work is displayed to the public, that is, was exposed, published, rented or even sold there is no way to prevent, in practice, that people to do records (photos, audio, video, paper copies, etc.) and then display them and/or share. It is impossible and there is no Big Brother (Orwellian) that can contain this tsunami due to the omnipresence of photo and video cameras in mobile phones. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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One can only try, but this is and will always be a losing battle.

Streisand effect On November 21, 2014 a self-titled group “Guardians of Peace” or “GOP” would have hacked the servers of Sony Pictures, blocking all computers, blacking out the company's website, besides stealing files and leaking unpublished movies (“Sony hack,” 2014). How a company as powerful as Sony – technologically speaking – shows itself as vulnerable to different attacks (Guardians of Peace, Lizard Squad) in so little time? The origin of the “Guardians of Peace” is still uncertain. According to the American television channel NBC, FBI sources “investigate” if North Korea “would be” behind the attack (Williams, 2014), (“North Korea,” 2014). The Asian country has its own division of hackers within the armed forces, known as Unit 121, which is “suspected” of attacks on the United States and South Korea. Could have been the North Koreans? Yes, in the same way that, could be the Chinese, Russians, Iranians, Japanese, Europeans, Americans (northern, central or southern), or Sony's own staff. The pseudo-defenders of freedom of expression and privacy exist everywhere. The stronger “evidence” of the authorship of the attack would be the fact for North Korea to have a “reason” to attack the Sony Pictures: the movie “The Interview”, a bad taste comedy from Sony about the fictional assassination of the North Korean Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un (Roger & Goldberg, 2014). If Sony was again the victim of the enemy hidden (or declared) maybe we never have all the answers. Could have been a marketing action (internal) or the work of friendly fire (Lena), after all the repeated attacks to the Sony's structure has gotten a seemingly easy success. All that the “Guardians of Peace” obtained in relation to threats to suspend the release of the movie was to make the even much more commented than would normally be, that is, the Streisand effect. It is an Internet phenomenon where an attempt to censor or remove any kind of information turns against the censor, resulting in the vast replication (“Streisand effect,” 2007). It is very likely that the movie The Interview would have been unnoticed, were it not for all the controversy that surrounded it. According Chedin (2014) and Spargo (2014), there are reasons to suspect this story – which points the involvement of North Korea, or even exemption from Sony. Through what happened Sony received disproportionate attention and the movie won an absurd free marketing. In the name of “freedom of expression” and as an act of protest and support, many people resorted to websites about © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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cinema, notably the IMDb, and rated a perfect 10 to the movie, even before watching it (IMDb, 2014), (Savov, 2014). They even went as far (Barack Obama) as to suggest the movie be nominated for an Oscar! (Maddocks, 2014). The same movie that is featured in the race for the Golden Raspberry Awards (Kreps, 2015), which “honors” the worst productions of the year (2014) of American cinema. If the movie is good or not, depends on the personal taste of each one of us. With much good will, protest and everything else, Chedin (2014) asserts that the movie does not deserve even half of it. It is possible, but better not to rely on critics in the same way that we should not trust politicians, researchers and exempt historians. The Sony's profits are probably being larger than “normally” would have been under standard conditions for “temperature and pressure”. Only at the premiere weekend were about $18 million, of which $15 million would be from online sales (Baker & Milliken, 2014) – the film was released simultaneously in several streaming services such as YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Videos and Kernel. According to Sony, just in this period the movie had been purchased or rented online more than 2 million times (Baker, 2014), becomes the largest Sony Picture’s online movie of all time. Between December 24 and January 4, this number rose to more than 4.3 million times, having raised more than $31 million from online, cable and telecoms sales. In addition, the film has earned $5 million at the theatrical box office, with 580 independent theaters showing the movie in North America (Sinha-Roy, 2015). To what extent has Sony learned from the mistakes of the past and can be held harmless in the process? That is, put sensitive information on a server – which can be accessed via the Internet – does not refer to the rereading of an antecedent trap, in Pearl Harbor-style (“Japan Questions,” 2008) – when all the Americans aircraft carriers of the Pacific fleet had already abandoned the port, leaving only the battleships, almost all old and outdated – to achieve our true purposes? The results, after the release of the film, has been so significant that, probably, the ports of Sony's servers will be open to the future “invasions”. It costs much less to promote the new releases and profits online are immediate. Any “definitive evidence” about the attack's authorship presented so far? The government of China said that there is no evidence that North Korea is responsible for attacking the Sony Pictures, as stated by the United States (Rajagopalan & Holland, 2014).

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In the past the U.S. also accused China of cyber spying, without evidence, and a U.S. official said the attack on Sony “could have used” Chinese servers to mask its origin (Wroughton & Rajagopalan, 2014). “Could have used” is an inaccurate, partial and biased statement. Suspicion and investigate evidence is something normal. Disclose this information before to prove something is irresponsible. Call a spade a spade, with impartiality and without compromise, is another story. The persistent and opportunistic attitude of trying to incriminate – without evidence – all those opposed to the dominant ideas of a given country does not give us the right to expose them and ridicule them (Basques, Communists, Cuban, Nationalists, National Socialists, North Koreans, Palestinians, Iranians, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, etc.). This recurrent modus-operandi always refers to the argument used, for example, with respect to the alleged large hidden reserves of mass destruction weapons in Iraq... The American agencies of “intelligence” CIA (Iraq) and the FBI (Sony) are so discredited that their information should always be interpreted to the contrary. Something like the weather forecast: we would make fewer mistakes… This is a strategy adopted by various nations, throughout history, to distort the facts, to create false truths, to obtain the support of the majority of other countries – and, sometimes, not even that. Since the early years of the twentieth century we witness tampering, denial, creation or even the imposition of versions considered “historical” episodes as Holodomor, Katyn massacre, attack on Pearl Harbor, Holocaust, murder of John F. Kennedy, September 11 attacks, weapons of mass destruction of Saddam Hussein, Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp, etc. The list is not intended to be exhaustive nor exclusive of any country. Conspiracy theories? Perhaps they could be considered that, but this does not mean that the huge list of evidence and proof of unofficial versions are lies (“American False Flag Operations,” 2015), (Sutton, 2001), (Sutton, 2000). Today we think that we know what really happened in Ukraine (1932-1933), in Poland (1940), in Brazil (1964-1985) and in Iraq (2003). The history was partially rewritten – in these cases. But, many other revisions (rereadings) are required (“Holodomor,” 2010), (“Katyn,” 2004), (“Iraq,” 2003). The official story hardly reflects the real history – what really happened – it is always distorted by the bias of one who tells – or is obliged to narrate. We can not change the past, but we should at least try to correct our mistakes – including the “official” versions of the history – and, as far as possible, not repeat them. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Several episodes remain being victims of the manipulation of the facts nowadays. We should have evolved – as a human race – but we remain using concentration camps, performing the forced deportation of people and the extermination, practicing the most diverse types of discrimination, forcing various forms of slavery – of all colors – and exploiting the child labor. If the year 2014 brought hope to Cuba, it also proved that this country – and not only – remains limiting and chasing the freedom of opinion. Faced with an inert United Nations due to the limits of power and facing a “security council” that does not allow the positioning of the majority, we see the resurgence of conflicts in all continents and we are witnessing the rebirth of a new cold war in Europe. This “security” council whose five permanent members (who have veto power) are the same as, currently, they practice the worst atrocities and crimes against humanity – without any punishment, because they consider themselves above the law that they have created for others: China (Tibet), France (Libya), Russia (Ukraine), United Kingdom (Argentina) and United States (Iraq). In addition, we watched transfixed, the eternal victim of the Second World War (Israel) does not shirk from applying these days (with evidence) against Palestine the same crimes and persecutions which alleged that they had been victims in the past (without proof). The battle of information – or rather, misinformation – nowadays happens mainly through the Internet. Many people who hold key positions – including presidents and prime ministers – choose to disclose relevant information via Twitter than through official statements. Nothing like creating a noise... The truths created (lies) against Ukraine and its heroes (1942-1956) are repeated nowadays (2013-2015), (Stopfake, 2014), distorting the historical role of nationalists as Stepan Andriyovych Bandera (“Stepan Bandera,” 2010) and his current followers, as well as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (“UPA,” 2007) and all tragic events that followed the Euromaidan (“Euromaidan,” 2013), which began on the night of 21 November 2013 with public protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kiev, demanding closer European integration. All in the hope of creating an independent Ukrainian state, and now fully integrated into the European Union. And as in any military conflict, gives rise to the propaganda war. Given the manipulation of the news by Russian or pro-Russian agencies – many reversing totally the sense of what happens – we highlight the blog “Ukraine in Africa” (“Ucrânia em África,” 2015), one of the best exempt sources of information about the absurdities that happen in this European country.

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Conclusion The episodes cited bring lessons in all senses of interpretation. The year 2015 will be just another in that world powers will show their inability to resolve many major crises. The next president of the United States will have to work out if there is a middle way between the imprudences of George W. Bush and the retraction of Barack Obama. The European Union will have to decide if it wants to stick at its current borders or whether it will allow the entry of Ukraine and Turkey. The upsurge of tensions will be considered by the West as Russia's fault. Vladimir Putin, in turn, will blame the West, while encouraging Russians to turn inwards, away from the malign influence of foreigners. China should use its new leverage to push harder for a stake in global internet governance. The Big Brother (Orwellian) may become the whole world (Ahmed, Doucet, Gracie, Kendall & Mardell, 2015). The attack occurred in France (Charlie Hebdo) on January 7, 2015 – in the event of confirming evidence that the murderers are Muslim terrorists – indirectly may introduce more difficulties for Turkey, besides favoring the current racist offensive in Europe (Schofield, 2015). Probably on the day that all the muchvaunted freedoms (expression, opinion, religion and manifestation) keep distances and ethical boundaries between themselves – politically correct, and contemporary – be possible to obtain a suitable solution to all issues involving not only the complex religious world, without running the risk of messing with existing passions when it comes to faith, whatever it may be. The history of Europe was a long blood-filled drama full of wars, conflicts, revolutions, plagues, discriminations, enforced migrations, coups and catastrophes – the majority of these events related to religion or to different visions and religious options. In name of “god” we remain watching the most resilient and regrettable episodes. “It's not time to repeat history. It's time to make history” (#McLaren Honda). In the same way that movie studios can get better financial results through secure online operations – lowest-cost and value to the end consumer – than in movie theaters, should universities ask themselves about the dominant model of knowledge's sale and bet on innovative online solutions (different from this elearning low-quality model that turned massive) and with a new model of sustainability, without charging customers directly. The OpenCourseWare have evolved into the Massive Open Online Course and the irreversible trend is to move towards full university courses, via Internet, in a safe environment and with guaranteed privacy, with certification and totally free of charge. It would not be ultimately a way unlike everyone else – a redesign – to achieve the beautiful revolutionary, democratic and constitutional standard of “universal, compulsory and free education” at all levels, to all people and without any distinction or discrimination? (Neves, 2003).

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The use of free resources available on the Internet is a great asset to all universities, whether public or private, because theoretically and probably its use demand less financial resources than would be needed to develop and/or maintain services and its own structure. However, it is necessary to moderate the enthusiasm of early adopters and dampen the skepticism with regard to novelties as well as pass on these benefits – in some way – to the users and ensure that they will have security and privacy preserved. The destruction of privacy widens the existing power imbalance between the ruling factions and everyone else, leaving the outlook for subject peoples and oppressed classes, as Orwell wrote, still more hopeless (Assange, 2014). In the movie Iron Man 3 (Feige & Black, 2013), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) quotes a phrase at the beginning and end of the film: “We create our own demons”... The context is different from this paper and much closer to the Europe's strategic relationship with Russia after the end of the Cold War, but can be applied and generalized to the extent that, when we bet all our chips on a given market solution – product and/or service, proprietary technology and/or provided by a single vendor; and hosted in a single country – we became hostages of our own options, or even worse, of the third-party options to whom we entrust our information on the Internet.

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Ukrainian Insurgent Army (2007, December 18). Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Insurgent_Army Virtual private network (2013, February 2). Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network Warhol, A. (1967, October 13). Sculpture: Master of the Monumentalists. Time, 90, 80-86. Retrieved Dec 24, 2014, from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837402,00.html Whittaker, Z. (2010, May 7). UC Davis scraps Gmail pilot: Privacy levels “unacceptable”. ZDNet, iGeneration. ZDNet. Retrieved Dec 23, 2014, from http://www.zdnet.com/article/uc-davis-scraps-gmail-pilot-privacy-levelsunacceptable/ WikiLeaks (2006, December). Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from https://wikileaks.org/ WikiLeaks: Secrets and Lies. (2011, November 30). Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from https://wikileaks.org/Guardian-s-WikiLeaks-Secrets-and.html Wikipedia: Anonymity (2014, December 11). Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Anonymity Wilde, O. (1891). The Decay of Lying: An Observation. London: Oneworld Classics. Retrieved Dec 20, 2014, from http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/1307/ Williams, P. (2014, December 18). North Korea Behind Sony Hack: U.S. Officials. NBC News. Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sonyhack/north-korea-behind-sony-hack-u-s-officials-n270451 Wong W. (2013). Van Gogh on Demand: China and the Readymade. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 320 p. ISBN: 0-226-02489-X Wroughton, L. & Rajagopalan M. (2014, December 23). Internet outage seen in N. Korea amid U.S. hacking dispute. Reuters. Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/china-usa-cybersecurityidINKBN0K004G20141222 XKeyscore (2013, July 31). Retrieved Jan 22, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XKeyscore

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 128-146, March 2015

Using Social Network Analysis for Analysing Online Threaded Discussions Roberto C. Rodríguez-Hidalgo1,2, Chang Zhu1, Frederik Questier1 and Aida M. Torres-Alfonso2 1Vrije 2Universidad

Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas, Cuba

Abstract. This study analyses the use of online threaded discussions (OTD) through social network analysis (SNA). The participants involved are university students in a Cuban higher education setting. It was conducted in the Programming Technologies course of the Information Sciences, at the Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas (UCLV). An intervention study was conducted involving students in Information Sciences during one semester. Both survey research and content analysis for online discussions have been used in this research. The social network analysis shows that online discussions reinforced student peer relationships and network dynamics. Furthermore, it is shown that SNA is a useful approach to analyze students‟ peer interactions in the digital space by comparing the peer relations before OTD and those during the OTD. The results are beneficial for both teachers and students to get a better view of the interaction patterns in online learning activities and thus helpful for further structuring and supporting students in online learning environment. Keywords: social network analysis, online threaded discussions, peer relationship, online collaboration.

Introduction Today social Web‟s emergence has come to play an important role in education. It is in a core position in the development of students as the paradigmatic “laboratory” supporting the learning processes where the students are immersed. The socio-constructivist theories laid by Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner (Bruner, 1966, 1977; Dewey, 1916; Piaget, 1971; Vygotsky, 1978) support the contemporary e-social constructivism (Salmons, 2009), the collaborative e-learning principles and the co-construction of knowledge when social software mediates the learners‟ interaction. Currently educational practices with social software supporting teaching and learning activities are increasing (Zhu, 2013). In Cuba, the demand for the use of social software for

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learning is increasing in order to improve the teaching and learning processes (Zhu et al., 2012). Online threaded discussions In recent years, online threaded discussions (OTD) have been widely used as communication and collaborative learning tools in e-learning and blended learning settings (Zhu et al., 2009). Instructional designers use online discussions to encourage students‟ active participation in the learning process (Maurino, Federman, & Greenwald, 2007; Ng & Cheung, 2007). Online collaborative learning activities can promote critical thinking, facilitate peer assessment and peer interaction (Chrystal, 2009; Jeong & Frazier, 2008; Rizopoulos & McCarthy, 2008; Chan, Hew, & Cheung, 2009; Ioannou & Artino, 2009; So & Brush, 2008). In OTD settings, discussions can be supported by an open-ended prompt (Rizopoulos & McCarthy, 2008) or raising questions (Lee, 2009). Moreover, the process of discussing online brings along some other tasks such as sharing and comparing information, exploring dissonance, agreeing the application of meanings and supporting people (Veerman & Veldhuis-Diermanse, 2001). Current use of OTD in Cuban higher education settings Online threaded discussions are used within the teaching and learning process to support students‟ interactions and knowledge sharing in some Cuban higher education settings, especially in Information Sciences and related fields. It can support the instructional activities such as lectures, workshops and online learning (Borges-Frias, 2009; García-Garay, 2005; Rodríguez-Torres & AntaVega, 2006). Although quite a lot of studies have recognized the effectiveness of OTD in teaching and learning, its applications in the Cuban higher education context are not yet widely spread. This is on the one hand related to teachers‟ familiarity with traditional, face-to-face teaching and monitoring students‟ learning processes, and on the other hand related to the limited internet access among Cuban universities. In order to overcome the hurdle of limited internet access, many universities use intranet to host social software applications and online tools including OTD tools in Cuban universities. Social Networks Analysis Social network analysis (SNA) is a way of analysis for mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, computers, URLs, and other connected information/knowledge entities (Abbasi & Altmann, 2011; Numela, Lehtinen, & Palonen, 1999; Wasserman & Faust, 1995). The nodes in the network are the people and groups while the links show relationships or flows between the nodes. SNA can provide both a visual and a mathematical analysis of human relationships. These measures can give us insight into the various roles and groupings in a network (Abbasi & Altmann, 2011; Butts, 2008; Hanneman, 1998; Laat, Lally, Lipponen, & Simons, 2007; Xia, Wang, & Hu, 2009). Using SNA for online communications and OTDs can help us studying the structures and dynamics of online communities. However, in the knowledge base of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and the analysis of OTDs, there is a lack of analysis of the relationship

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structures and dynamics of online communication using SNA (Abbasi & Altmann, 2011; Butts, 2008). Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge especially in the context of Cuban higher education regarding student interactions and peer relationships in OTD learning designs. The use of SNA for analysing OTDs is unique for studying the online learning communities within Cuban higher education. It provides the steps to use SNA software to visualize the students‟ social network states and can provide guidance for teachers‟ decision making regarding the level of online collaboration and peer relationships and thus improve the learning design of their courses. Content analysis of OTDs Peer relationships and interactions can be analysed at the content level (PenaShaff & Nicholls, 2004). In the literature, the models of Gunawardena et al (1997) and Veerman and Veldhuis-Diermanse (2001) are widely used. The instrument of Gunawardena et al. (1997) is presented as a tool to examine the social construction of knowledge in computer supported learning. It is based on grounded theory and uses the phases of a discussion to determine the amount of knowledge constructed within a discussion. The model of Veerman and Veldhuis-Diermanse (2011) situates the use of CSCL within a constructivist framework and presents an analysis of the type of comments and discussions (De Wever et al., 2006; Rienties et al., 2009; Zhu, 2012). Next to the use of SNA for analysing the peer dynamics in online communities, content analysis is used to analyse peer interactions at the content level. Through both ways, this study will be able to reveal the actual interactions among university peers in OTD learning settings.

Objectives and research questions This research aims to investigate the role of OTD in reinforcing student peer relationships in learning and how students interact with each other in OTD settings. The following research questions guide this research: 1. How do student peer relationships differ during OTD learning context from the relationships before starting the OTD learning activities? 2. Does OTD reinforce student peer relationships in learning? 3. How students interact with each other at the content level? 4. How do students perceive the effectiveness of OTD for learning?

Method Design of the study This research involves an intervention study of using OTDs among 4th year bachelor students in Information Sciences during the 2010-2011 academic year at UCLV in Cuba. Before the start of the intervention, a survey was administered, including three measurement scales: students‟ current social network relationships, preferred social network relationships and views on collaborative learning. These quantitative data were analysed through descriptive statistics and SNA (Butts, 2008). The students were involved in OTD learning activities for the course of Programming Technologies during one semester. After the intervention of one semester, a questionnaire was administered to measure

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students‟ views of the OTD and perceived effectiveness of OTD. The OTD activities were analysed with SNA and content analysis. Participants Participants of this study were 21 students who attended the course of Programming Technologies in Information Sciences (IS) at the Faculty of Information and Educational Sciences (FCIE). This was the population of a whole class. All of them were between 22 and 24 years old. Among them, there were twenty female students and one male student. Instruments At the start of the study, a questionnaire was administered to the students to gather data about their peer relationships and preferred peers for study, and their views about collaborative learning. The students were asked to answer questions regarding (1) their current peer relationships for study (the number and names of peers that a student frequently studied with), (2) their preferred peer relationships for study (the number and names of peers that a student preferred to study with), and (3) views about collaborative learning. At the end of the intervention study, a questionnaire was administered to the same group of students assessing their views of using OTD for learning and student self-efficacy. The questionnaire included three scales: students‟ selfefficacy (SE) about learning the subject (Programming Technologies), perceived importance of using OTD for learning the subject (I.TD, 8 items), and perceived effectiveness of using OTD for learning the subject (E.TD, 6 items). The SE scale inquired specifically about students‟ self-efficacy about their knowledge on the course. The SE scale included 34-items reflecting three sub-scales, namely selfefficacy in Programming Language, self-efficacy in programming Tools, and self-efficacy in current Web Programming Technologies. The composition and reliability of the scales are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Self-efficacy scales and student perceptions of Threaded Discussion for learning Reliability Scale Items Type (Cronbach’s alpha) 1. Self-efficacy in Programming Technologies 34 (SE) a)Self-efficacy in 6-point Likert Scale Programming Languages 12 ranging from Not (SE.PL) α=0.96 Confident to Strongly b) Self-efficacy in Confident Programming Tools 12 (SE.PT) c) Self-efficacy in Current Web Programming 10 Technologies (SE.NT) 2. Importance of Threaded 6-point Likert Scale 8 α=0.69 Discussion for learning ranging from Not

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(I.TD) 3. Effectiveness of Threaded Discussions for learning (E.TD)

Important to Very Important 6-point Likert Scale ranging from Completely Disagree to Completely Agreed

α=0.78

Intervention The intervention of this research took place during a full semester. Two communication tools were used to support student online threaded discussions: OTD and Feedreader (a RSS news aggregator). The students were required to participate in four online learning activities supported by OTD. The OTDs were hosted on the intranet of the university. The teacher and students also used emails for communication, especially when there were problems with OTDs. The teacher used the Feedreader for monitoring students‟ participation in the OTD throughout the RSS channels. A worksheet was designed for archiving students‟ learning activities and performance during the course. It consisted of a sheet per activity for facilitating the tracking of student participation in OTDs. The teacher used it to record student activities and performance per activity. The worksheet also contained the observation guide that the teacher used to assess student online learning activities. At the end of the intervention, both qualitative data and quantitative data were gathered. Qualitative data were collected through student actual participation of discussions online. The students‟ online discussions and comments in the OTD were used for content analysis. Quantitative data were gathered through a questionnaire, which was introduced in the above „Instruments‟ section. The questionnaire was administered during the last workshop session of the intervention course. Data Analysis Regarding the quantitative data, reliability analysis and descriptive analysis were conducted for all measured scales. As for the qualitative data, we focused on student actual participation in OTD and their peer relationships online. With regard to online discussions, content analysis was applied to analyse students‟ actual participation while using OTD during the learning process. Regarding the peer relationships, the software tool Gephi was used for conducting the Social Network Analysis, modelling and monitoring the interactions of the students while learning online. The Gephi tool includes plug-ins for gathering live data about social interactions within virtual learning environments. This software combines the graphs theory with a strong visualization engine facilitating the social networks presentation. Student desired peer relationship, prior peer relationship and actual peer relationship during the OTD were analyzed and compared.

Results The results of this study focus on three aspects: first, student interactions and peer relationships in OTD as analysed by SNA; secondly, content analysis of

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student online discussion in OTD; thirdly, students‟ perceptions and views about OTD and their perceived importance and effectiveness of OTD. Student peer relationships analysed by SNA First of all, students‟ reported peer relationships before the intervention was analysed. The data gathered at the beginning of the research regarding student peer relationships for study was used to construct the graph B (N, E) (B refers to the status of the network before using OTD); where N was the set of nodes representing the students and E was the set of edges representing the study relationships they declared to have at the start of the research (Figure 1). Secondly, a graph concerning the desired peer relationships of the students was modelled. It included the colleagues the students would like to study with. This graph was constructed by using the same analogy of the previous one. It was denoted as D (N, Ed) (D refers the desired network for learning), whose nodes are the same –N- and the edges are represented as Ed (Figure 2). This graph depicts the students‟ desired peer relationships for studying this course.

Figure 1. Composition of the network for studying PT [B (N, E)] before the study began.

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Figure 2: Composition of the desired, ideal network for studying PT [D (N, Ed)]

Thirdly, the state of peer relationship network that was shaped during the interaction while using the OTD was examined. The graph T (Nt, Et) (T refers to threaded discussions) denotes the relationships the students established through interacting and commenting within the OTD (Figure 3). Next to the actual peer relationships among the students, this graph included the participation and interaction of other two members: the teacher of this course (Teacher) and the students of other academic years of IS who were involved in the discussions– these were denoted by Others. Thus the following formula was used: 1. Nt = N ∪ (Teacher, Others) The teacher and the other members (senior students of the same program) had an added value in this social network, as they had the possibility of monitoring students‟ online activities in OTD. It also gave the teacher an effective way to assess the students‟ learning progress. Moreover, it allowed the students of preceding academic years to enhance their knowledge about the topics that were discussed in OTD. Another two auxiliary graphs were shaped to analyse the composition of the network states formed during online learning activities. The other, auxiliary graph represents the result of unifying the graph B with the graph T. This union (B ∪ T = Ir) surpassed the supposed ideal state of the network (D), taking into account the cardinality of the new set of edges obtained. The following equations show the foundations of this finding: 2. B (N, E) ∪ T (Nt, Et) = Ir (N ∪ Nt, E ∪ Et) 3. |N ∪ Nt| > Nt ≡ 23 > 21 4. |E ∪ Et| > |Ed| ≡ 85 > 78 The improvement of the network (Figure 4) for studying PT was confirmed by its metrics‟ improvement after the course finished. The results showed that the

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cardinality of the nodes (|N ∪ Nt|) increased. It refers to the quantity of nodes interacting in the social network. The same occurred in the case of the edges. Both were beneficial for students‟ learning relationships. A comparison between Ir and D is presented in the Table 2, where the shaded columns show the metrics of these two network‟s states. The main improvement of Ir consists on the augment of the cardinality of the set of nodes, by including the teacher and other students (Equation 3). Moreover, there is an augment in the cardinality of the set of edges (Equation 4), but it is not significant if considered the incorporation of the teacher and other students. The results show that there was a meaningful improvement of the network in terms of the relationships established through the OTD, taking into account that the state denoted as D shows an ideal state of this social network. A comparison between the metrics of the initial network‟s state –shown in the first column of the Table 2- with the metrics of the final state, illustrates the improvement on the final network‟s state, taking into account that the students never abandoned their study habits before using the OTD. They just combined the use of OTD with their learning habits.

Density The density measures how close the network was to complete every possible edge among all pairs of nodes. A full-connected graph/network has a density value equal to 1. The higher the density of a network, the better is the connectivity among its nodes. The Ir‟s density increased with respect to the initial state of the network (B). When these states are interpreted as directed graphs the density values increased from 0.136 to 0.168. Otherwise, considering the network as an undirected graph, the density increased from 0.229 to 0.273. These values are not considered significant, even when a little improvement of the network is perceived, because the students were in their fourth university year; so they previously had established almost all the learning relationships they would want. It is also the cause of the absence of isolated students within Ir and B. Once the students have been in touch during three academic years they have had the possibility to choose the peers they consider suitable to study with.

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Figure 3: Graph denoting the relationships established by the students while commenting within the OTD

Figure 4: Union of the network for studying PT (B) and the relationships established through the OTD (B â&#x2C6;Ş T = Ir)

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Strongly connected components The quantity of strongly connected components of a graph is the minimum number of sub-graphs whose density is equal to 1 (e.g. an isolated node in a network represents a strongly connected component). The smaller the quantity of strongly connected components of a social network, the best is the information flow between the network‟s nodes. There was a reduction from seven (within B) to four strongly connected components (within Ir) whereas the ideal status –represented by D- has only two. This reduction contributed to the improvement of the learning possibilities by increasing the information flow among the network nodes. The increasing of the edges connecting the nodes of the network is visually obvious in Ir when comparing Figure 1 with Figure 4.

Shortest paths In the graphs theory, the shortest path from a to b (a, b ∈ N) in a given graph G (N, E), is the path with the minimum number of intermediate nodes c1, c2, …, cn between a and b; where the path length is equal to n+1. A meaningful augment was found in the quantity of shortest paths of B with respect to Ir (from 229 to 442). It can mean an improvement in terms of time and effort spent by the students for finding information through the interaction with their classmates. Moreover, the number of weakly connected components did not change across the study; which confirms the absence of isolated nodes in the network. Besides, the number of full-connected triads (triangles) in the network varied from 34 to 80, being better than the 56 triangles of D. A triangle in a given graph G (N, E) is constituted by a triad of nodes a, b, c ∈ N, such that ∃ (a, b), (a, c), (b, a), (b, c), (c, a), (c, b) ∈ E.

Closeness centrality One of the best improvements of Ir concerns the centrality metrics. The closeness centrality metric (Brandes, 2001) indicates how often a node is found in the shortest paths between each pair of nodes of the network. This metric, whose average is 0.407, is significantly better than the initial average of the state B (0.491). Hence, it is very close to the average closeness centrality of D (0.392). Contextualized to this study, it indicates how long it would take for the information from a given node to reach the other nodes in the network, supposing that the time taking for the information to reach the node b from the node a is equal to one unit when exists an edge from a to b within the network. Table 2: Metrics' comparison of the different states of the network Metric Isolated nodes Nodes Directed edges (Edges‟ cardinality) Graph Density (for Directed-Undirected networks) Shortest Paths

Ir = B ∪ T

Ir ∩ D

0 21

5 23

0 23

0 21

0.1360.229

0.1860.290

0.0650.103

0.1680.273

0.1140.190

229

400

162

442

135

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Average Path Length Average Betweeness Centrality Average Closeness Centrality Clustering Coefficient Triangles Weakly Connected Components Strongly Connected Components

2.638

2.625

2.333

2.688

1.978

0.047

0.081

0.020

0.070

0.017

0.491 (1)

0.392 (1)

0.541 (12)

0.407 (1)

0.643 (1)

0.273 34

0.311 56

0.236 13

0.313 80

0.252 18

There is only one node of the network whose closeness centrality is null, which means that its correspondent student does not have an effective way to share or consult information with the others. The smaller the value of this metric, the smaller will be the delay for sharing information among the students of the network, which also improves the learning results. The benefits of sharing information among the students are also confirmed by the analysis of its average betweeness centrality (Brandes, 2001), whose value varies from 0.047 to 0.070. This metric indicates how often a node is found on the shortest paths of the network. In this study, it is understood as a measure of knowledge sharing capabilities. Moreover, the average clustering coefficient (Latapy, 2008) â&#x20AC;&#x201C;indicating how close the neighbourhood of a specific node is to a complete subgraph- augmented from 0.273 to 0.313, which is even greater than the ideal (desired) value of D. So, it means an enhancement of Ir when comparing with B or D in terms of the probability of each student to access the knowledge flowing in the network. Another analysis intersected the resultant state of the network with the desired one (Ir â&#x2C6;Š D, Figure 5).

Figure 5: Coincidences of the union of social network for studying PT and the OTD interactions' network, with the desired network for studying PT

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Figure 5 shows a great covering of the desired relationships (D) represented by Ed in the intersection, as well as a great covering of the real relationships (Ir). The percent of edges covered were 62% and 56% respectively. A shallow analysis suggests that the students used the OTD for establishing relationships with some of the peers they wanted to interact with –as they declared in the sociometric questionnaire. Content analysis: students’ online comments and discussions The students‟ online comments and discussions were analysed according to the established content analysis‟ approaches (De Wever et al., 2010; Gunawardena et al., 1997; Veerman & Veldhuis-Diermanse, 2001). The purpose was to analyse the experience they acquired during the course in the use of OTD; which was, for them, a novelty way on facing the learning activities. Error! Reference source not found. shows a detailed summary of their comments and discussions, classified by the coding schemes based on the discussion types (Veerman & Veldhuis-Diermanse, 2001) and the levels of knowledge construction (Gunawardena et al., 1997). Additionally, the comments containing assessment evidences were coded and marked with other two codes signalling the presence of assessment and/or peer-assessment scripts. Table 3: Content analysis of the students' comments within the OTD Code

Comments

% of the total of comments

Task-oriented analysis Task oriented 59 87% Non-task oriented 52 76% Irrelevant 5 7% Technical 10 15% Planning 29 43% Social 22 32% * Levels of knowledge construction Sharing and comparing information 21 31% Assessment Assessment 15 22% Peer-assessment 6 9% * The rest of the codes of this approach (exploration of dissonance, negotiation of meaning, testing synthesis and agreement-application) are not included because there were no comments concerning these levels of knowledge construction.

The students had an acceptable participation within the OTD. Fifty-three students‟ comments and 15 teacher‟s comments were coded 168 times, according to the codes of the referred approaches. It suggests a mean of more than two comments per student while the teacher monitored the OTD. Fifty-nine comments were coded as task-oriented ones, representing 87% of the total of comments and showing a very good symptom of students‟ focus on the learning activities. They also used the OTD for writing additional, inline scripts which were marked as non-task-oriented ones. The most of these comments (29, 43% of 68) referred planning aspects regarding the usefulness of these activities for subsequent studies and knowledge management on the subject of PT‟s topics.

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Twenty-two comments (32%) contained social scripts and 10 (15%) of them contained technical ones, where the students asked for help to use the OTD. Only five comments (7%) treated irrelevant issues. Concerning the levels of knowledge construction, only 21 comments are marked with the codes of this analysis approach. All of these are dedicated to share or compare information, indicating the shallow experience of the students when interacting through social software. The other four superior levels of knowledge construction conceived in this content analysis approach were not used within the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x; comments. presents a matrix indicating the codesâ&#x20AC;&#x; coincidences within the collected comments. The rows and columns indicate the considered codes for accomplishing the content analysis. Moreover, it shows the percentages of coincidences, with respect to the total of codes in the rows, separated by slashes.

Social

Sharing-comparing

Assessment

Peer-assessment

1 (20%)

Planning

Irrelevant

Technical

Task-oriented analysis Task 59 (100%) oriented Non-task oriented

Irrelevant

Codes

Task oriented

Table 4: Codes' intersection matrix and percentages of codes with two or more scripts coded

1 (2%)

10 (17%)

25 (42%)

15 (25%)

20 (34%)

14 (24%)

6 (10%)

5 (100% )

2 (40%)

10 (100%)

4 (40%)

2 (20%)

5 (50%)

4 (14%)

29 (100%) 6 (27%)

6 (21%) 22 (100%)

13 (45%)

1 (5%)

6 (27%)

21 (100%)

5 (33%)

13 (87%)

1 (7%)

15 (100%)

6 (100%)

6 (100% )

10 (100% 0 ) 25 Planning 0 (86%) 15 Social 2 (9%) (68%) Levels of knowledge construction* Sharing20 0 comparing (95%) Assessment analysis 14 Assessment 0/0 (93%) 6 Peer(100% 0 assessment ) Technical

2 (9%)

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In this table, the task oriented and planning comments represent the biggest quantity of them containing scripts marked with a couple of codes, which is 25 in this case. A further analysis shows high percentages for almost all of the comments containing scripts marked with the “task-oriented” code, medium percentages for almost all of the “planning”-coded scripts and a considerable portion for the “social”-coded scripts. It confirms that the students have mainly focused on the online learning tasks. Moreover, this table shows that 100% of the comments containing “technical” and/or “peer- assessment” scripts are also task-oriented comments. Considering that the peer-assessment implies a level of socialization with other peers, all the “peer-assessment”-coded comments (100%) are also marked as “social” ones. The most participative OTD was the task in which the students posted their personal information. This way they shared some of their skills, likings and career‟s records so they could motivate the others to discuss about those topics. It was also the most social online learning activity (21 of 22 “social”-coded comments) due to the nature of the discussions, on which they evaluate their classmates‟ performance in the university. The whole of the “peer-assessment”coded comments were detected within this activity. The content analysis of the OTD gave the teacher the possibility of rapidly analysing the students‟ comments, like a parallel task. The teacher could perform better by assessing them immediately they posted their comments. Likewise, the peer-assessment of the students was improved by providing them with an effective way to evaluate their classmates‟ online learning. However, the scaffolding for this kind of assessment can be improved by increasing the activities following this instructional design during the courses.

Student self-efficacy, perceived importance and effectiveness of OTD The means of the administered OTD‟s importance and effectiveness scales, I.TD (M=3.78, SD=0.47) and E.TD (M=3.82, SD=0.85) respectively, confirmed its importance and effectiveness within this setting. Consequently, the effectiveness of the computer-supported framework for analysing OTD was confirmed. Although the mean of the self-efficacy scale (SE) on the course topics was relatively low (M=2.90, SD=0.80), it was acceptable taking into account the complexity of the course topics. Moreover, the students performed very well at the end of this course (M=4.32, SD=0.82).

Discussions and conclusions The results show that students‟ relationships were reinforced by using OTD for learning. Many evidences of collaboration emerged within the social network after using OTD while learning online (Ir). Collaboration emerged from students‟ interactions and it occurred consciously or spontaneously. Gephi explorative data analysis showed the advantages of OTD in terms of time and effort spent by the students for finding and sharing information through the interaction with their classmates. Another actor actively participated within the social network was the teacher, who could intervene during the learning process to provide

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additional feedback. Moreover, some senior students could participate within the OTD; encouraging a wide range of critical thinking responses from the students, as well as situating them as the discussions leaders (Wishart & Guy, 2009). The use of social software to promote critical thinking has been considered in other studies (Jeong & Frazier, 2008; Lee, 2009; Rizopoulos & McCarthy, 2008). This intervention study demonstrates that integrating analytical and social software guarantees the teacher presence in the social space and gives him/her a constant feedback about the students‟ learning process, which provides more evidences for assessment and enhances the knowledge construction by improving critical thinking. The assessment practices reported by other authors (Chan et al., 2009; Chrystal, 2009; Ioannou & Artino, 2009; Isotani et al., 2010; Kang et al., 2010; Lee, 2009; Maurino et al., 2007; So & Brush, 2008; Wishart & Guy, 2009) might be encouraged by combining with content analysis methods (Gunawardena et al., 1997; Veerman & Veldhuis-Diermanse, 2001) in order to improve the quality of assessment. Monitoring students‟ learning process facilitates the intervention of the teacher and thus the possibility of giving immediate aids and feedback. Moreover, it motivates the students to reflect on their learning process through peerassessment and critical thinking. In this study, it was confirmed that the assessment quality was improved by using the social software for improving this key component of the teaching and learning process. The present study has contributed to the using of Social network analysis (Scott & Carrington, 2011) in analyzing online learning spaces and communities (Rainie & Wellman, 2014). In this research, we have elaborated the importance of social network analysis for analysing student peer relationships and interactions in online discussions. Understanding the network of interaction between students can help teachers monitor the interaction structure of students, and have a clear view of the role of students in discussions and the patterns of peer interaction behavior (Scott, 2013). For example, which students were taking the lead and which students were peripheral. This is also important to measure the effectiveness of students‟ actual participation in online learning activities (Borgatti & Everett, 2013). Some limitations need to be noted in this study. First, the sample size of this study was small, limited to the 21 students involved in a specific course under this study. Secondly, the results of this study need to be considered with caution as it applied to a specific setting. In addition, the results might be related to the so-called Hawthorne effect as the participants were introduced to new methods and got extra attention (Hansson & Wigblad, 2006). Nevertheless, this study has a number of important implications for the use of online learning activities in Cuban higher education. The analysis of threaded discussions facilitates the scaffolding of the students‟ learning and gives the teacher more evidences for their assessment. The combination of social software

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with SNA and content analysis methods provides a suitable framework to promote collaborative learning practices within Cuban higher education settings, where the Internet gap weakens the knowledge socialization. The more the teachers would know these methods, the more they would be successful to confront the challenge of transforming the teaching practices to more analytical approaches. Even though the tools and methods for applying the approach described in this study are known in Cuban higher education, it is important to promote a culture of using those ones for assessing the students and analysing their performance within their learning social networks. According to the emergence of social software and new learning environments, it is beneficial for the teachers to use it to support their learning activities, thus motivating the students to accomplish their learning tasks. Hence, the teachers would apply more analytical practices and more innovative assessment, on the basis of collaborative learning and social interaction. This learning approach, supported with online collaborative learning, has been applied in other courses too in the Cuban setting. The present study provides significant evidences regarding the effectiveness of computer-supported collaborative learning in Cuban higher education.

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