JTATE Special Issue released (Guest bloggers Joe Freidhoff and Kevin Oliver)

Today I am joined by two of my colleagues, Drs. Joe Freidhoff and Kevin Oliver, to share the publication of a special issue of the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education that we co-edited.

The special issue consisted of five articles that focused on Current Trends and Issues in Providing Instructional Support for K-12 Online and Blended Learners. All five articles and a brief description of each are listed below:

Jeff Drysdale (Brigham Young University), Charles Graham (Brigham Young University), and Jered Borup (George Mason University) provided a case study of a program at Mountain Heights Academy that features instructional support by way of a “shepherding” program, where teachers support students by providing clear communication, developing caring relationships, and assisting in content interaction to ensure students are successful.

Lisa Hasler Waters (University of Hawaii-Manoa) and Peter Leong (University of Hawaii-Manoa) examined the co-roles of teachers and parents in a cyber charter, where negotiating was necessary in order to determine who was responsible for what when it comes to the students’ academic progress.

Kevin Oliver (North Carolina State University) and Dallas Stallings (North Carolina State University) shared a comprehensive review of blended learning environments and the strategies within them, illustrating what’s working and what’s lacking regarding research when it comes to preparing teachers for these new learning models.

Leanna Archambault (Arizona State University), Kristen DeBruler (Michigan Virtual University), and Joe Freidhoff (Michigan Virtual University) explored the chasm of space between policy and teacher preparation when it comes to K-12 blended and online learning, providing a list of recommendations for how to best prepare teachers for these emerging learning environments.

Jered Borup (George Mason University), Richard West (Brigham Young University), Charles Graham (Brigham Young University), and Randall Davies (Brigham Young University) provided a framework for continuing research in K-12 blended and online learning. This framework called “The Adolescent Community of Engagement” consists of four main constructs, including student engagement, teacher engagement, peer engagement, and parent engagement.

Abstracts and more information about accessing the full articles can be found at the following link: http://editlib.org/j/JTATE/v/22/n/1