Leading the Way
Asynchronous Session
Developing Teacher Candidates’ Teaching and Global Teaching Competence through Virtual Exchange View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chang Pu
Teachers in the U.S. need to develop skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed to work with increasingly diverse students (Tichnor-Wagner, et al., 2019). In China’s new version of English Teacher Education Standards (Ministry of Education, 2018), intercultural competence is also prioritized as a key competency. Framed with global competent teaching (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019) and Communities of Practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998), this study explored how a learning community was evolved among Chinese and American teacher candidates through the virtual exchange (VE) projects embedded in teacher education courses, and how the VE projects supported their development of globally competent teaching. Data were collected through anonymous pre- and post-surveys, Zoom recordings, peer feedback on lesson plans and recorded teaching, and final interviews. Abundant examples emerged under the themes of a shared domain of interests and practice, being accountable to the community, and building up a shared repertoire of language teaching resources and practice. Even though at the beginning the power dynamics existed between Chinese and American candidates, activities allowed them to demonstrate their knowledge of language teaching, which counterbalanced the initial power relationship. As a result, candidates were able to establish a more equitable and reciprocal partnerships. We were also able to identify evidence related to globally competent teaching in the process of developing their online CoP entailed by the emerged themes: critical reflection of teaching from the glocal and cultural perspectives, interculturality, and self-reflexivity.
Leading Digital Transformation in Minority Serving Higher Education Institutions View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Shelley Johnson, Lorna Kendrick
The digital divide in higher education typically focuses on students with lack of resources and access to stay virtual connected to people and knowledge in comparison to the general public. COVID-19 revealed the true state of the digital divide amongst underrepresented students and the institutions that serve them. Social and economic factors directly contribute to the disparities in the learning outcomes of minority students. Educational leaders serving underrepresented populations and internal stakeholders need adequate knowledge, skills, and resources be better prepared to participate, compete and remain relevant and viable related to digital transformation, as the world moves at warp speed. Educational leaders serving underserved groups with limited resources must know and understand their role in this ongoing process. A scoping review has been completed to investigate strategies to best facilitate and sustain digital formation in nursing/healthcare education, specifically in programs serving underrepresented populations. Implications: Educational leaders in minority serving institutions can be prepared with knowledge of best practices in preparing, implementing, and sustaining digital transformation; These leaders can better support internal stakeholders to successfully navigate digital transformation; Minority-serving intuitions of higher education can adequately prepare learners participate and be successful in the ever-changing digital world.
Featured Effects of Online Learning and Policies on Grades: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Stakeholder Perceptions about Underserved Secondary School Students View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Patience Agana
How do low-income secondary school students excel learning online? Utilizing an exploratory mixed method and a case study, 16 interviews and an online Google survey were conducted with 137 participants consisting of administrators, teachers, parents, and counselors from an urban low-income secondary school to examine the effects of online policies and online learning on students’ grades in a low-income secondary school in Colorado, USA. Utilizing sense-making theory and phenomenology, qualitative findings show that, although the effects of online learning and policies on grades largely depended on the types of students, at least 50% of students’ grades declined during online learning. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis showed no difference between in-person and online learning grades, while two logistic regression analyses showed strong associations between grade change, age, and teacher-student relationship. Thus, indicating that teacher-student relationship and maturity of students are key to attaining positive grades online. Moreover, older students who relied less on teachers experienced positive grades online, while the opposite experienced negative grades. Thereby, revealing the importance of collaborative training on academic efficacy for stakeholders to help motivate students in their learning, and to use efficient online policies, as well as include teachers and parents in online policy decision-making.
Leadership Lessons from Elite Athletes and Coaches View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Perry Rettig
This paper features lessons learned from interviews of elite college, professional, and Olympic athletes in the areas of leadership, motivation, and organization. Three dozen athletes and coaches from the arenas of the Olympics, NFL, NFL Europe, NBA, and MLB, as well as college teams have shared their stories for the book which is featured in this review.
Supporting Latina Teachers’ Development: The Necessity of Communal Spaces View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Teresa Sosa
This work explores the professional, personal, and identity development of Latina first year teachers. Specifically, this work documents a year-long study with six Latina first year elementary teachers (students ranging from ages 5-14) through monthly zoom gatherings. Their development as teachers, as activists and as Latinas were documented through testimonio, which is a form of sharing one’s lived experiences, all the while maintaining the explicit goal of highlighting the voice and agency of people toward building communal struggle for justice. This work makes a case for how the zoom monthly chats became spaces of convivencia (communalism, coming together) that allowed teachers to engage, reflect, learn, and support each other in a way that is deeply centered within a Latina womanist epistemology. Communal spaces are important because they combine community and informal learning toward teacher development but also support Latina teachers to deepen their refusal of the structures of colonization reinforced every day in institutions and in the broader society. The need to come together and collectively share experiences while establishing convivencia is strongly needed for Latinas in the teaching profession. These communal spaces and sharing of testimonios are rare in institutions and therefore this group can be viewed as one example of how to create such urgent spaces as well as how to protect and sustain them. Thus, this work aims to serve as a guide to Latinas and other people of color in creating communal spaces focused on professional, personal, and identity development in their own institutions and communities.
