The CITE Journal is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed journal, established and jointly sponsored by six professional associations (AMTE, ASTE, NCSS-CUFA, ELATE, ITEEA, and SITE). The works on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Most Recent Articles
Exploring Robot Programming in a Geometry Content Course: Learning Opportunities for Prospective Teachers
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This study evaluated programming and robotics (PR)-integrated geometric learning activities designed to build prospective teachers’ (PSTs’) knowledge and skills necessary for incorporating PR in elementary geometry classrooms. To identify the learning opportunities these activities provided to PSTs, the authors examined arguments PSTs generated to justify the correctness of programs designed for robots to travel along triangular paths, as well as their initial and postsurvey responses and written reflections describing their beliefs about learning and teaching mathematics with PR and demonstrating their learning experience through the PR-integrated activities. Data analysis showed three different domains of learning opportunities offered to PSTs for their knowledge development for teaching PR in mathematics classrooms: (a) developing an understanding of geometric concepts used in program design, (b) improving justifying skills of using geometric reasoning to verify the correctness of robot programs, and (c) building productive views toward learning and teaching mathematics with PR. The researchers also identified the specific knowledge and skills PSTs used to verify program correctness before testing with physical robots. Suggestions are proposed for teacher education to prepare PSTs for PR-integrated mathematics instruction.
Preservice Teachers’ Choice of Online Popular Sources to Inform Evidence-Based Practice: An Application of the WHY Method to Education Source Evaluation
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The education environment increasingly emphasizes the need for teachers to ground their practice in the evidence base, which requires the ability to locate and critically evaluate online information. Within the context of a preservice teacher education literacy course, this study examined the online popular sources students chose to cite in an assignment after completing a lesson focused on finding information through both library resources and general online searches. The WHY Method, a framework for characterizing source authority, along with literacy educator classifications of reputation and alignment with the evidence base, were used to analyze students’ online popular source selections. Some preservice teachers had challenges discerning whether the source was scholarly or popular based on how the online content was presented. Preservice teachers primarily cited static webpages and often failed to fully integrate ideas from the online popular sources into their papers. The WHY Method provided a practical way to characterize source authority and reputation, but the literacy educator classifications were necessary to evaluate the source’s alignment with the evidence base. The analysis of these online popular sources indicates that preservice teachers must be explicitly taught how to evaluate and use sources of information they find online.
The Perceptions of GenAI Tools in Lesson Planning: Implications for Science Teacher Education
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This exploratory study examined how early-career teachers in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) methods course, the majority of whom were science teachers, engaged with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools in lesson planning, examining patterns of use, perceived affordances and challenges, and factors influencing adoption. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model framework, this study investigated shifts in pedagogical knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge among nine participants enrolled in the course. Findings indicate that structured exposure to GenAI tools enhanced participants’ confidence and competence in integrating technology into lesson design. While some participants embraced GenAI for tasks such as assessment creation and brainstorming, others paused due to concerns about accuracy, ethical implications, and reliance on district-provided or mentor-developed materials. Although the cohort included two early-career mathematics teachers, seven of the nine participants were early-career science teachers. This study highlights the importance of critical AI literacy in shaping the adoption of GenAI tools in STEM education. Implications for teacher preparation include the need for thoughtful integration, ethical guidance, and sustained professional development to support responsible and effective use of GenAI in education.
Consequential Clicks in Curriculum Planning: Teachers Navigating Online Searches for “Difficult History” Topics
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Given heightened scrutiny and conflicting messages surrounding history curricula, it is important to examine how teachers navigate online searches for planning and the literacies they employ. Using a critical digital literacies framework, the authors explored the search strategies, sites visited, and guiding values of 19 United States social studies teachers as they used internet resources to plan lessons on histories they identified as “difficult.” Most chose histories associated with genocide, enslavement, and/or colonialism. Using both free and paid websites, teachers considered credibility, bias, and diverse perspectives, while also taking into account school district approval and caregiver concerns. A small percentage of teachers discussed issues related to critical consciousness during their searches. Implications for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers are included.
Geospatial Technology Integration With Professional Development: A STEM Teacher’s Use of ArcGIS, Robotics, and Drones
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Teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) need professional learning opportunities to understand how to integrate geospatial technologies like ArcGIS into classroom experiences. Few studies have examined how teachers engage in professional development and then apply new technology knowledge to school environments. Improving the pipeline into STEM career pathways requires alignment between K-12 STEM teaching and learning with STEM careers; thus, research is needed to explore ways K-12 educators can infuse their classroom practices with STEM industry applications like geospatial technologies. This descriptive case study explored one STEM teacher’s 3-year journey in a geospatial technology professional development program led by a university. Over 2 years, the teacher gained expertise in ArcGIS and eventually created an independent robotics exercise incorporating the technology. The study highlights how teachers’ technology integration pathways vary based on individual experiences, school settings, and teaching assignments. Understanding teachers’ experiences with professional development and classroom implementation provides insight into the challenges STEM educators face when transitioning from training to real-world application. Successful geospatial technology integrations require an intricate balance of teachers’ instructional decisions about content with student engagement and technology capabilities. STEM teacher educators should consider the intentional placement of geospatial technologies into courses that have curricular flexibility with content, instruction, and assessment to increase the success of teacher technology integration.
Bridge to Inclusion: Enhancing Digital Literacy for Preservice Teachers With Accessibility Integration
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While efforts are being made to integrate coding and computational thinking into K-12 teacher training, instruction on designing accessible software is often overlooked. To introduce accessibility into training for future teachers, the authors modified a 1st-year seminar for education to include the topic of accessibility through simulation games in a digital literacy module. They tested their approach using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent groups with additional comparison groups. They surveyed 25 students across two sections of the course (one experimental and one control) and analyzed assignment data from 70 students across five sections (the original experimental and control groups along with an additional control group of three more sections). They found that preservice teachers who learned about accessibility developed greater empathy for people with disabilities and a better understanding of the software challenges they face. This was not true for the control group. Similarly, preservice teachers in the experimental group showed an increased desire to teach both accessibility and digital literacy. There was a significant difference in their inclusion of accessibility features in their final project, suggesting that accessibility training can influence education students to prioritize accessibility for an extended period.