Assessing Preservice Teachers' Conceptual Change in an Internet-Based, Case Instructional Environment

Assessing Preservice Teachers' Conceptual Change in an Internet-Based, Case Instructional Environment Charles K. Kinzer (Kinzer@tc.columbia.edu) Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120 th St., 322 Thompson Hall (CCTE) New York, NY 10027 U.S.A. Manu Kapur (mkapur@nie.edu.sg) National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University Singapore Sarah Lohnes (scl2103@columbia.edu) Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120 th St., 322 Thompson Hall (CCTE) New York, NY 10027 U.S.A. Dana W. Cammack (Cammackd@mail.montclair.edu) Montclair State University, One Norman Ave., University Hall Room 3200 Montclair, NJ 07043 U.S.A. Stavroula Kontovourki (sk2322@columbia.edu) Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120 th St., 322 Thompson Hall (CCTE) New York, NY 10027 U.S.A. Daniel Hoffman (dlh2109@columbia.edu) Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120 th St., 322 Thompson Hall (CCTE) New York, NY 10027 U.S.A. Selen Turkay (st2282@columbia.edu) Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 West 120 th St., 322 Thompson Hall (CCTE) New York, NY 10027 U.S.A. Abstract This paper (1) presents an argument that anchored, multimedia case-based instruction, delivered interactively over the Internet, has benefits for the conceptual development of preservice teachers, (2) argues that a commonly-used measure can be modified to provide insights into conceptual change, and (3) suggests needed, additional analyses to examine change in depth/complexity of knowledge. Evidence and insights from a two-group, large-scale experimental study of preservice teachers using multimedia, anchored cases in their preservice literacy methods courses support the discussion. Keywords: Case-based Instruction; Teacher Education; Teacher Cognition; Conceptual Change CTELL Project Overview To examine the differences in learning outcomes among participants in pre-service literacy courses that used Internet-based multimedia cases and those that relied on more traditional methods (e.g., lectures, field experiences, and readings), our research team implemented a pre-posttest experimental design. Thus, the nature of instruction (case- based vs. traditional instruction) and the change in learning outcomes across time (pre-posttests) constituted the dependent variables included in the design. Case-based instruction relied on the use of the Case Technologies to Enhance Literacy Learning (CTELL) project, described briefly below. A discussion of the instruments, design, and analysis used to examine learning outcomes by preservice teachers in CTELL follows the project description. The CTELL project is an effort to enhance pre-service teachers’ knowledge and skills relevant to best practices for literacy instruction. The construction of the CTELL cases was theoretically grounded in twelve principles of effective reading instruction. These emerged from an extended review of research on early literacy instruction and encompassed teacher knowledge; relevance of instruction to students’ cultural backgrounds; development of foundational literacy skills; phonemic awareness, decoding and comprehension instruction; independent reading; development of fluency; integration of reading and writing; incorporation of computer and Internet technology into early literacy instruction; early assessment; and enthusiasm for and engagement in reading (Teale, Kinzer, Labbo, & Leu, 2002; Shrader et al., 2003). These principles guided