Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 38 Number 3: Spring 2006

	Edited by Dr. Lynne Schrum, University of Utah
formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education

Volume 38 Number 3 Spring 2006

Teacher Inquiry: A Vehicle to Merge Prospective Teachers’ Experience And Reflection during Curriculum-Based, Technology-Enhanced Field Experiences

Kara Dawson
University of Florida

Abstract

This study describes and analyzes a four-year effort to provide curriculum-based, technologyenhanced field experiences for prospective teachers. These field experiences and this associated study espouse the notion that experiences and reflective activity must coalesce to yield professional growth for prospective teachers. The study suggests that teacher inquiry, a process that scaffolds prospective teachers to systematically and intentionally study their use of technology, may (1) counter many shortcomings associated with traditional strategies designed to promote reflective activity, (2) focus prospective teachers’ attention on student learning outcomes, and (3) facilitate more desirable integration strategies during curriculum-based, technology-enhanced field experiences. The study notes that teacher inquiry is widely recognized in the general teacher education literature, yet novel within the context of curriculum-based, technology-enhanced field experiences, and encourages educational technologists to further explore its possibilities as a tool for teacher preparation and educational research.

 Download the full article PDF (PDF, 552 KB, PDF instructions)

Contributor

Kara Dawson is an associate professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. Her research intersects the fields of educational technology, teacher education, and online learning. She currently serves as program coordinator for educational technology and co-coordinator of online Masters and EdS programs in “Teaching, Learning, and Facilitating Change with Educational Technology.”

Contact

Kara Dawson
University of Florida
2403 Norman Hall
PO Box 117048
Gainesville, FL 32611-7048
dawson@coe.ufl.edu

Copyright © 2006, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.