With the theme "The World of Educational Quality," The American Education Research Association holds its 89th Annual Conference in Chicago from April 9 through April 13, 2007, and CCT participated in the proceedings. Members of our research staff presented papers and/or lead poster sessions that described our latest education technology research findings.

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This press kit contains our day-by-day schedule at the conference, links to staff in attendance and papers available for downloading or online reading.

Special Events

2007 Jan Hawkins Award was Announced Wednesday, April 11 at AERA
The 2007 recipients of the Jan Hawkins Award for early career contributions to humanistic research and scholarship in learning technologies were announced on Wednesday at 8:15am in Hyatt's Plaza Ballroom, Section B, East Tower - Green Level. Following the announcement, the 2006 award winners presented their papers.
Noel D. Enyedy (University of California - Los Angeles) presented "Navigating Tensions Between Different Theories of How People Learn: A Learning Scientists's Struggle to Design and Study Culturally Relevant Learning Environments."
Iris E. Tabak (Ben Gurion University) presented "Technology in the Classroom: Objects, Subjects and Subjectivity" This year's search was chaired by : Brian K. Smith (Pennsylvania State University) and Xiaodong Lin (Teachers College, Columbia University).
The award is a memorial to late CCT Director Jan Hawkins, who passed away in 1998.

Monday, April 9

Monday, April 9
12:00PM - 1:30PM

Skills for the Twenty-First Century: Supporting Digital Literacy in the Classroom

In Session: 21st-Century Literacy: A Symposium in Honor of Michael Pressley
Hyatt / Columbus Hall, Section G, East Tower - Gold Level

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Presented by Cornelia Brunner (co-authored by Shelley Pasnik and Margaret Honey)

This presentation described the development of a website to promote teaching and learning of digital literacy in the classroom.

Monday, April 9
12:00PM - 2:00PM

Ubiquitous Computing in Education: Invisible Technology, Visible Impact

In Session: Symposium
Inter-Continental / Sullivan, Eighth Floor

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Participant: Naomi Hupert

Ubiquitous technologies for learning is a relatively new field, and the unique nature of the tools themselves has opened up new possibilities for research in educational technology. It is important that we begin to systematically explore those possibilities now in anticipation of burgeoning use of ubiquitous computing in classrooms everywhere. Some exploratory research has been conducted. This symposium will focus on a book entitled, “Ubiquitous Computing in Education: Invisible Technology, Visible Impact,” edited by Mark van ‘t Hooft and Karen Swan, researchers at Kent State University’s Research Center for Educational Technology, and scheduled for publication by Erlbaum in August 2006.

Tuesday, April 10

Tuesday, April 10
8:15AM - 9:45AM

Preparing Teachers to Teach Mathematics in Inclusion Classrooms: A Multimedia, Case-Based Approach
In Session: Multicultural and Inclusive Mathematics and Science Education: Toward Pedagogies of Equity and Engagement
Hyatt / Toronto, West Tower - Gold Level

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Presented by Ellen B. Meier (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Co-Authors: Kathy Powell (Teachers College, Columbia University), Fiona M. Hollands (Columbia University), Babette Moeller (Center For Children and Technology), Barbara Dubitsky (Bank Street College of Education)


In today’s world of high standards for all elementary students in mathematics, there is an urgent need for teachers to be highly knowledgeable about the strengths and needs of their students, comfortable with their own integration of inclusion practices in the classroom, and committed to continuing their knowledge-building in this area. This research describes the third year results of an NSF funded project which uses multimedia case studies, a neuro-developmental framework, key standards-based math concepts, and collaborative lesson development in a professional development approach. The findings of the pilot studies have important implications for those interested promoting a deeper understanding of inclusion students and professional development approaches for teaching inclusion students in the area of mathematics.

Tuesday, April 10
8:15AM - 10:15AM

Technology Research: Initial Findings of Impact of One-to-One Computing Initiatives
In Session: Paper Session — Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning
Sheraton / Ontario, Level 2

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Discussant: Ellen Mandinach

This paper sessions examinesone-tone computing intiatives.

Tuesday, April 10
10:35AM - 12:05PM

Teachers' Use of Data: A Case Study on How Teachers Use a District’s Data Warehouse
In Session: Technology Research — Issues in Teacher Practices and Professional Development With Technology
Marriott / Iowa, Fifth Floor

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Presented by Ellen B. Mandinach (co-authored by Luz Rivas and Cricket Heinze)

The proposed paper presented findings from a case study based on data collected as part of a larger three-year study that is examining the implementation and use of different technology-based data-driven applications in six school districts. The case study will focus on how teachers at one of the study’s sites, the Tucson Unified School District, use a web-based data warehouse developed locally by the district. The case study examined how teachers used the data in the warehouse to inform their decision making, what types of data teachers accessed, and how the warehouse’s structural design and functionalities supported the decision-making processes. Additionally, the paper revealed other contextual variables that affect teachers’ use of data.

Tuesday, April 10
4:05PM - 6:05PM

Understanding the Issues in Supporting Teachers' Technology Use
In Session: Paper Session — Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning
Marriott / Iowa, Sixth Floor

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Discussant: Lauren Goldenberg

This paper session examined technology as an agent of change in teaching and learning.

Wednesday, April 11

Wednesday, April 11
9:05AM - 9:45PM

Making the Role of the Literacy Coach Work in Rural Settings: A Discussion of the Challenges and Obstacles
In Session: Investigations of Instructional, Assessment, and Professional Practices in Literacy
Hyatt / Grand Ballroom, Sections C-D North, East Tower - Gold Level

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Presented by Naomi Hupert

This presentation addressed the challenges schools in rural settings face in locating qualified literacy coaches and providing ongoing support and professional development for coaches to ensure quality instruction for all students. This presentation drew on findings from the New Mexico Reading First (NMRF) evaluation (authors, 2005). As one of the least populated states in the country, New Mexico has many schools in geographically isolated locations. One requirement of NMRF is for every school to have an onsite reading coach. However, many rural schools have experienced difficulty in recruiting qualified reading coaches and in providing adequate professional development to the coaches they were able to recruit. Findings were based on an analysis of student assessment, survey and interview data.

Thursday, April 12

Thursday, April 12
8:15AM - 10:15AM

An Exploration of "Teaching Thinking" in the K-12 Classroom
In Session: Exploring Teachers' Epistemological Systems
Hyatt / Burnham, West Tower - Silver Level

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Presented by Lauren Goldenberg (co-authored by Scott Strother)

Critical thinking has been shown to have many overall benefits for children, but teachers often have a difficult time supporting critical thinking in the classroom. This project aims to further understand how teachers perceive and implement critical thinking in the classroom after completing a workshop that trains teachers to use web-based technology designed to foster students’ higher-order thinking. Results show that the teachers in the study were able to create curricular units that incorporated critical thinking skills. However, they were not all able to enact the components related to critical thinking in the classroom. This was reflected in weekly activity logs, interviews, and in student artifacts that were assessed. Implications for professional development and teaching critical thinking are discussed. ©2007 All Academic, Inc.

Thursday, April 12
12:25AM - 1:55PM

Thinking Through Documents: Improving Professional Development by Making Visible Intermediate Cognitive Processes in Historical Thinking
In Session: Learning Environments for Different Domains and Learners — Instruction and Assessment in Science, Music, and History
Hyatt / Riverside Center Exhibition Hall, East Tower - Purple Level

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Presented by Lauren Goldenberg (co-authored by Bill Tally)

How might the recent ‘cognitive revolution’ in history learning help us improve the quality of current professional development in US history? This poster session highlights video and web-based records of student and teacher historical thinking with documents. The aim is to get a clearer and more nuanced picture of what ‘historical understanding’ consists of for students and teachers, and to gain insight into the components of effective classroom teaching with historical documents.

Thursday, April 12
12:25PM - 1:55PM

Technology Research: Evaluating the Impact of Technology on School Outcome
Paper Session
Hyatt / Plaza Ballroom, Section A, East Tower

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Chair: Ellen B. Mandinach

Thursday, April 12
2:15AM - 2:55PM

Measuring Program Fidelity: A Developmental Process
In Session: Evaluating Staff and Developing Professional Learning Communities in Our Schools
Hyatt / Grand Ballroom, Sections C-D North, East Tower - Gold Level

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Presented by Merav Dechaume, (co-authored by Wendy Martin)

The literature on scaling up of educational initiatives suggests that fidelity is a key factor in determining success or failure of programs and initiatives. In this paper we described the process of developing and validating a set of instruments designed to assess the implementation fidelity of a successful technology professional development program as it is scaled up to other states. Used a dual methodology to capture both the structural and dynamic aspects of the PD program, we presented a model for establishing program implementation fidelity. This paper also depicted the collaborative process between program experts and external evaluators in designing instrumentation to ensure successful scaling while maintaining faithfulness to the programs’ core components.

Thursday, April 12
2:15AM - 3:45PM

Using Video Case Studies in Learning to Assess the Strengths and Needs of Diverse Learners
In Session: Using Records of Practice to Focus Mathematics Professional Development on Student Learning
Hyatt / Crystal Ballroom, Section C, West Tower - Green Level

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Presented by Babette Moeller
Co-authors: Barbara Dubitsky (Bank Street College of Education) and Ellen B. Meier (Teachers College, Columbia University)

Utilizing the case method, and building on the lesson study approach the Math for All Project is developing case-based materials to support teacher educators in their efforts to better prepare teachers for providing students with disabilities with standards-based mathematics education. The professional development resources we are creating consist of video-taped mathematics lessons from elementary classrooms that include students with various disabilities, resources related to the lessons, as well as learning experiences to support teacher educators in their use of the case materials. Each case lesson highlights the experiences of individual students with a range of abilities and disabilities. Among other things, the learning experiences that embed the case materials engage general and special teachers to collaboratively inquire into and reflect on the strengths and needs of individual children. The objective for the presentation was to report emerging findings about how the case-based professional development contributes to teachers’ understanding of students’ strengths and needs. They concluded with a discussion of how the research has helped refine the design of the case materials and their use for professional development, as well as the questions it raised for further studies.

Thursday, April 12
2:15AM - 3:45PM

The Computational Literacy Project: Meeting the Challenge
In Session: Science Education - General Poster Session
Hyatt / Riverside Center Exhibition Hall, East Tower - Purple Level

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Presented by Terri Meade (co-authored by Dixie Ching)

Incorporating computational science tools (e.g., computer models and simulations) into the teaching and learning of science topics is challenging. Through hands-on exploration, participants explored interactive simulations based on four core science topics (Population Dynamics, Disease Spread, Carbon Cycle, and Rock Cycle) that aimed to engage diverse students and teachers from varying academic backgrounds. In addition, preliminary results from an ongoing three-year study about incorporating computational science tools into existing curricular will be presented and explored.