We designed this website in attempts to draw more attention to the dearth of research and literature about the places preservice teacher reflect. We also hoped this website might help in the designation of more on-line spaces where preservice teachers’ collectively reflect as a community and grow as professionals in the field.

Hypermedia, as the two authors present it, serves as an excellent resource for this critical thinking.  Isolating and analyzing song lyrics, photographs, graphics, and digitizing videos are a few of the examples the authors present in their article. They describe the theoretical framework of hypermedia (i.e. immersion, identification, contextualization, representation, critique, transformation).  I cannot help but question the omission of reflection from this framework.  While it is obvious reflection is embedded in each of these pieces, I believe reflection places a critical role in students’ examining how they are positioned, or represented, in the media culture. Why is reflection absent?

By marrying hypertext and multimedia, hypermedia emerges as a form of critical literacy. I agree with the authors that hypermedia authoring can help students understand their place in the world, as well as questioning norms and biases.  Empowering students by allowing them the opportunity to analyze, edit, and modify representations they embark on a journey where literacy is retired and critical literacy emerges as the MVP.

http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/ele_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/jaal/3-01_Column/index.html

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Please take a few moments and listen to my podcast. I share, what I believe, to be insightful information which inquiring minds might want to know; however, I also pose some questions which I’m hoping you might be able to help me with. Thanks so much!

podcasting-trial.mp3

            I have just successfully downloaded iTunes (I know, it’s a sin that I haven’t yet) and I meandered through all of iTunes available podcasts.  As
Richardson (2006) suggests “just getting familiar” with podcasts, I’ve spent time this afternoon just “playing” and learning.  I agree with the authors of both pieces that podcasts offer an invaluable resource for education.  From teacher created to student created podcasts, the creativity and freedom behind the source can help us all learn and grow.  Similar to blogs, yet with the ability to be carried around on an iPod, podcasts offer another means of broadcasting information with the “freedom of speech”.

            Interestingly though, I searched diligently for podcasts which may serve as a source, or resource, of/for preservice teachers’ self-reflections and found none. It appears the movement for reflecting on podcasts has not yet hit the ceiling in terms of popularity.  However, this could be a new bridge to build as an avenue for preservice teachers to self –reflect.  The question is, do you think preservice teachers would use podcasts?  Would they listen, more than they offered? Or, would they speak more than they listened?  Any thoughts on their thinking?   

Some relevant Yahoo Groups which will be great data sources are:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newteacher/ , http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Schools___Education, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Schools___Education/Teaching_and_Research

Thesea are great leads for my partner and I.  Thanks for all of you input and happy searching to my collaborators!!!

Purpose 

      As the standards based movement and high-stakes testing era in the United States grows more popular, the value of teachers’ self-reflections risks being “swept under the table” due to its lack of tangible, quantitative data; however, these reflections offer us, as researchers, a chance to illuminate the importance of continual implementation of reflection in the classroom and teacher education programs. Reflective teaching is important, not only as a tool for teaching, but as an aim of education. In this sense, reflection can be an avenue which improves both teaching and pedagogy. However, the act of developing personal theoretical perspectives through the reflection during teacher education programs is finding much resistance.

Both British and American political figures contend too much time is being spent by preservice teachers learning about theory and reflecting, while too little time is spent putting experience into practice (Griffiths & Tann, 1992). Although this might be true in some cases, we do think that most teacher education programs really support preservice teachers by providing subject matter instruction, theories of child development, and sound models of teaching and classroom management strategies. Classroom observations, peer-teaching exercises and field placements are usually employed to further prepare the novice teacher to meet the demands of the classroom and students with innovation and a strong knowledgeable vision.

So, more important is the need for providing opportunities of thinking in a reflective way. Reflection provides the opportunities to identify where one needs to improve and generates practical ideas about effective instructional skills. The purpose of our research is then to examine the multimodal types of reflection preservice teachers are engaged in.  Are there on-line resources for preservice teachers to reflect together as a community?  If so, what are they and how are preservice teachers reflecting on these sites?

MethodsHOW:

            We propose conducting on-line searches using (Google, Google reader, manual searches, GSU library, EBShost, etc.) to collect evidence/lack thereof of the various mediums preservice teachers use to reflect.  In conjunction with on-line searches we will be researching scholarly articles to review current studies relevant to avenues of preservice teachers’ self reflections.  We will post URLs, reflections, PDFS, etc. to our weblogs and will be communicating each week through blogging, email, and face-to-face communication. 

WITH WHAT:

            Our blogs will serve as a tool for Eudes and I to reflect and grow in understanding related to the paths preservice teachers use to self-reflect.  We will collect public examples of preservice teachers’ self-reflections (ex. Blogs, websites, MySpace, wikis, etc.).   

Timeline (Weblogs will be used throughout to communicate with each other through ideas, reflections, questions, clarification and relevant URL postings.)

Week of 2/20/07: Turn in completed Research Proposal

Week of 2/27/07:  Jointly researching on-line resources (e.g. blogs, college/university websites, scholarly journals) for evidence and research concerning preservice teachers’ reflections.*

Week of 3/06/07:  Jointly researching on-line resources (e.g. blogs, college/university websites, scholarly journals) for evidence and research concerning preservice teachers’ reflections.*

Week of 3/13/07:  Independently review data sent from partner and further familiarize ourselves with our own findings.  Meet and disaggregate our data.

Week of 3/20/07:  Independently review data sent from partner and further familiarize ourselves with our own findings.  Meet and disaggregate our data.

Week of 3/27/07:  Begin writing our findings.

Week of 4/03/07:  Continue writing our findings.

Week of 4/10/07:  Continue writing and begin class presentation.

Week of 4/17/07:  Finalize paper and presentation

Week of 4/24/07: PRESENTATION and CELEBRATION!!!!! 

* Throughout the data collection period we will be sending each other our findings and relevant research. 

Requests for support

1. Does anyone know of any online resources (e.g., blogs, podcasts) for preservice teachers to self-reflect on?
2.   Do we need IRB approval to conduct this research?
3. Does anyone have any scholarly journal articles which directly relate to preservice teacher reflection?
4. Does anyone have/know of any examples of on-line preservice teacher self-reflection?

     There are two sides to every story, in this case, one scary and one enlightening.  I have no doubt that some preservice teachers are being exposed to forms of PowerPoint which are neither content, nor teacher-oriented, which hinder their creative thought due to the bareness of the depth and breadth of the presentation.  We have all sat through a presentation where we would have rather been twirling paper towel instead of subjecting ourselves to the “voice of the presenter”.  You know what I am talking about…the speaker who, you are convinced, has no clue there is an audience in the room and reads from the slide as if  he/she is trying to win the nobel prize for “Dullest Presenter of the Year.”  I do, in fact, agree with Kjeldsen that this has the potential to hinder the growth and self-reflective tendencies of our preservice teachers.  I also believe, though I have no research to prove it, that teachers who are taught this way may be more likely to use PowerPoint the same way in a classroom of their own.

     Now, the bright side of the story:  PowerPoint can serve as an amazing tool to spark conversations, deepen reflection and help preservice teachers to grow into amazing, thoughtful teachers.  If the information presented on PowerPoint slides is meaningful and thought-provoking, whether bulleted or not, and presented in an engaging, empowering way, preservice teachers will grow, will think, and will pass the torch of knowledge on.  Again, I believe preservice teachers will be more likely to enter the field and flourish, passing on this reflective style to students.

    A quick disclaimer; I am not saying that I believe the preservice teachers who were dealt the bad hand, with the world’s most boring presenter of PowerPoint presentations, will be a bad teacher, or vice versa; however, I do believe the students exposed to the mundane presentations of slides will be more likely to use the tool in their classroom that way.  That said, I’m anxious to know your thoughts about the good, the bad and the ugly of PowerPoint and its potential impact on preservice teachers and reflection.  What do you think?

     I’ll leave you with two thoughts to ponder, the first is Kjeldsen’s view of PowerPoint, the second, I’m playing the devil’s advocate.  Where do you fit in?

“If time after time we squeeze complex ideas into a series of disparate slides, with fixed templates and fragmented bullet points, we simplify not only speech and content but also the way in which we perceive the content.  Indeed, we influence all our ways of thinking” (pp. 14-15).

If time after time we provide thought-provoking, meaningful ideas and issues presented in a series of related slides (yes, even sometimes bulleted), we amplify not only speech and content but also the way in which we perceive, think about, and reflect on the content.  Indeed, we influence ALL our ways of thinking.