i-manager's Journal of Educational Technology (JET)


Volume 21 Issue 2 July - September 2024

Research Paper

Preventing Teacher and Counselor Burnout: Self-Care in Training Programs

Gina Cicco*
Department of Counselor Education, School of Education, St. John's University, New York, United States.
Cicco, G. (2024). Preventing Teacher and Counselor Burnout: Self-Care in Training Programs. i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 21(2), 1-8.

Abstract

This study examines the concerns associated with heightened stress levels experienced by education professionals, particularly teachers and counselors-in-training. Following the COVID-19 global pandemic, teachers and counselors have been faced with a multitude of extended responsibilities due to students' learning lapses and lags, heightened awareness of trauma-based reactions and social challenges in students and professionals, and overall increased cases of anxiety and depression. Preventing burnout is critical for successful student teaching and internship experiences for education students in teaching and counseling programs. Maintaining personal wellness impacts performance, satisfaction, and retention in education professions and eventually results in more optimal services for their students. Teachers and counselors are responsible for the academic, personal/social, and career development of their students of various ages. Traditional tasks associated with these professions have widened as mental health concerns are recognized as direct links to academic success. Caring for students' mental health is embedded within the repert of any robust academic curriculum as a prerequisite for achievement. A piloted two-part prevention or intervention plan employed in a metropolitan teacher-counselor preparation program is described as a potential tool for expanding self- care practices and improving mental health among education trainees. The intervention was beneficial for retaining trainees, improving their fieldwork performance, and reducing reports of stress, anxiety, and depression. Tips for self-care that lead to resilience and burnout prevention are reviewed and can potentially be useful not only for trainees but for seasoned practicing educators.

Research Paper

A Study of Intervention Math Labs and STAAR Math Growth Scores in a South Texas Rural Middle School

Yvonne J. Munoz* , Linda Challoo**, Don Jones***
*-*** Texas A & M University, Kingsville, United States.
Munoz, Y. J., Challoo, L., and Jones, D. (2024). A Study of Intervention Math Labs and STAAR Math Growth Scores in a South Texas Rural Middle School. i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 21(2), 9-18.

Abstract

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has implemented a student accountability system that measures students' performance on the State of Texas Assessment for Academic Readiness (STAAR) in several content areas. Therefore, teachers and administrators all over the state are always seeking ways to ensure that students are academically well prepared. Every school year, several middle school students struggle with mathematics. Teachers then provide the assistance needed to help those students close the gaps in their learning through the Response to Intervention (RTI) system. Additional measures are taken to provide that assistance, such as incorporating intervention math labs into a school day and offering that class to struggling students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the difference between taking a math lab over a period of three years and whether it aided in improving students STAAR math growth performance scores from grades sixth through eighth. The sample for the study included 30 students who were enrolled consecutively for three school calendar years from 2016-2019. The selected students' STAAR math growth performance data was examined closely from year to year. The data included students who took a math intervention lab and students who did not take a math intervention lab. The data of both groups were compared. After the study was concluded, it was found that there was a statistically significance difference between students STAAR math performance growth data from sixth through eighth grade. Students in both groups showed gains in their assessments, but students who were enrolled in a math intervention lab demonstrated more growth, therefore indicating that those students benefitted from taking a math intervention lab. The findings of this study inform administrators, educators, and future researchers about the STAAR math performance when students are given an additional math class in order to receive targeted interventions. The findings help administrators decide whether intervention math labs should be implemented into the school daily schedule.

Research Paper

Turkish EFL Teachers' Perceptions of their Pedagogical Digital Competence in an EFL Setting

Duygu Alaçam Dehneliler*
College of Foreign Languages, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
Dehneliler, D. A. (2024). Turkish EFL Teachers' Perceptions of their Pedagogical Digital Competence in an EFL Setting. i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 21(2), 19-32.

Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) require digitally competent teachers in all subject areas, including English language teaching. English language teachers must be digitally competent for learner guidance and engagement. This study examined 220 Turkish EFL teachers' level of 21st-century digital competence and how they perceived their digital competence in classroom settings. It also sought to reveal the correlation between their digital teaching confidence, years of teaching experience, and the self-perceptions of their digital competence using the DigCompEdu CheckIn scale. The findings indicated most Turkish EFL teachers perceived themselves as digital experts (B2) in the classroom setting. The competencies with the highest mean scores were using different digital communication channels, selecting digital resources, teaching digital technologies, and practicing reflectively. The lowest scores of the teachers were for empowering learners by facilitating differentiation and personalization, information and media literacy, having digital assessment strategies, and utilizing digital technologies to enhance self- regulated learning. The results also revealed a correlation between their digital teaching confidence, years of teaching experience, and the self-perception of their digital competence and concluded with pedagogical implications and limitations.

Research Paper

Brief Report: Targeting the Social Communication Skills of an Autistic Adolescent with a Co-Occurring ADHD Diagnosis using Two Formats of a Social Story

Nicole Anthony*
Coppin State University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Anthony, N. (2024). Brief Report: Targeting the Social Communication Skills of an Autistic Adolescent with a Co-Occurring ADHD Diagnosis using Two Formats of a Social Story. i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 21(2), 33-40.

Abstract

Friends are an important part of adolescent development. Autistic adolescents with a co-occurring ADHD diagnosis may struggle with the social communication skills necessary to make friends (i.e., verbal initiations and on-topic responses) due to the characteristics of both disorders. This study used an alternating treatment design to compare a social story intervention in two formats (i.e., paper and technology) when used to address the social communication skills of an autistic adolescent with an ADHD diagnosis. Results from this study showed that the social story read prior to a gaming session with a neurotypical peer was ineffective in increasing participant social communication skills. However, generalization probes four weeks after the intervention concluded indicated the mean level of initiations was higher compared to baseline, comparison, and maintenance phases.

Research Paper

The Effectiveness of GeoGebra Assisted Learning on Students' Mathematical Representation: A Meta-Analysis Study

Ryan Angga Pratama* , Sedat Kanadli**
*-** Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey.
Pratama, R. A., and Kanadli, S. (2024). The Effectiveness of GeoGebra Assisted Learning on Students' Mathematical Representation: A Meta-Analysis Study. i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 21(2), 41-59.

Abstract

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of GeoGebra-assisted learning on students' mathematical representation through a meta-analysis study and possible moderator variables to moderate it. Experimental studies were obtained from Google Scholar and ERIC databases and then included in this meta-analysis study were 23 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The effect sizes were combined according to the Random Effects Model (REM). Based on the calculation using CMA v3 and R Studio (Meta Package), the overall effect size was calculated as 1.144,95% [.890, 1.397]. Furthermore, the application of GeoGebra-assisted learning to improve students' mathematical representation ability is also influenced by students' demographics (Sumatra Island) (Q = 7.874 > χ2, p < .05). However, the application of GeoGebra-assisted learning to improve students' mathematical representation skills was not influenced by variables such as experimental design (Q = .306 < χ2, p > .05), independent variables (Q = 1.438 < χ2, p > .05), publication type (Q = .674 < χ2, p > .05), education level (Q = 1.619 < χ2, p > .05), subject matter (Q = 3.330 < χ2, p > .05), meeting duration (Q = .25 < χ2, p > .05), and sample size (Q = .53 < χ2, p > .05). Based on these results, it can be said that GeoGebra-assisted learning has a strong positive effect on students' mathematical representation when compared to learning without GeoGebra (conventional).