TPACKEA Model for Teaching and Students’ Learning

Key Factors Affecting Mathematics Teachers' Well-Being and Stress Levels: An Extended Engagement Theory

The mathematics teachers' profession often has many challenges. It also occupies important positions at the K-12 education level, in which mathematics knowledge is the basis of all scientific fields. This tends to cause high-stress levels and a negative effect on well-being. Mathematics teachers' well-being has been less examined, and therefore this study aims to determine the factors affecting mathematics teachers' well-being and stress levels. The 210 data points collected from Chinese mathematics teachers using a web-based questionnaire were analyzed for reliability and validity, then model fit and SEM were applied for model validation after removing 3 invalid data points and incomplete responses. The results showed that behavioral and cognitive engagements significantly affect teachers' well-being, while the affective engagement was insignificant. The TPMK was the strongest significant predictor that had a positive impact on improving well-being and reducing stress levels. In addition, the stress level of mathematics teachers was influenced by gender and age. Finally, it was proven that teachers' well-being significantly reduced stress levels. This study's implication was to provide information on how to reduce stress levels.

Constructing a Digital Competence Evaluation Framework for In-Service Teachers’ Online Teaching

The focus on online teaching and teachers’ digital competence (DC) has reached a new level following the emergence of COVID-19 and its dramatic influence on the educational industry, requiring teachers to be equipped with DC. However, there is no consensus on the measuring framework of teachers’ DC. Therefore, this study aimed to construct a reliable self-evaluation framework for in-service teachers’ DC during online teaching. The data of 1342 teachers with online teaching experience were obtained. The methods of data analysis included exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and item analysis. Results demonstrated that the constructed evaluation framework performed consistently with the collected data. CFA also confirmed a good model fitting of the relevant 10 factors of the teachers’ DC framework. Therefore, in the teachers’ DC evaluation framework, the constructs interacting with each other consist of technical knowledge (TK, four items), learner knowledge (LK, three items), pedagogical knowledge (PK, three items), ethical knowledge (EK, three items), learner technical knowledge (LTK, four items), learner pedagogical knowledge (LPK, four items), learner ethical knowledge (LEK, four items), technical pedagogical knowledge (TPK, three items), technical ethical knowledge (TEK, four items), and pedagogical ethical knowledge (PEK, three items), but in total the scale comprises 35 items. It can be an effective instrument to support in-service teachers’ DC measurement for their online teaching.

An Entangled Pedagogy: Looking Beyond the Pedagogy—Technology Dichotomy

‘Pedagogy first’ has become a mantra for educators, supported by the metaphor of the ‘pedagogical horse’ driving the ‘technological cart’. Yet putting technology first or last separates it from pedagogy, making us susceptible to technological or pedagogical determinism (i.e. where technology is seen either as the driving force of change or as a set of neutral tools). In this paper, I present a model of entangled pedagogy that encapsulates the mutual shaping of technology, teaching methods, purposes, values and context. Entangled pedagogy is collective, and agency is negotiated between teachers, students and other stakeholders. Outcomes are contingent on complex relations and cannot be determined in advance. I then outline an aspirational view of how teachers, students and others can collaborate whilst embracing uncertainty, imperfection, openness and honesty, and developing pedagogical knowledge that is collective, responsive and ethical. Finally, I discuss implications for evaluation and research, arguing that we must look beyond isolated ideas of technologies or teaching methods, to the situated, entangled combinations of diverse elements involved in educational activity.

Character Strengths and Ethical Engagement in Online Faculty

In this study, the researchers investigated the relationships between character strengths and ethical engagement in online faculty. One of the ethical duties for higher education faculty is to engage in effective teaching practices. As online higher education becomes increasingly popular, online faculty also bear this duty. Numerous studies have shown that character strengths cultivate ethical behavior. Hence, we sought to determine the relationship between character strengths and ethical engagement in online faculty. Specifically, we focused on intellectual character strengths, interpersonal character strengths, and emotional character strengths because of their relevance to online faculty's teaching practices. Through correlational analyses, we learned that interpersonal and emotional character strengths were positively and moderately related to ethical engagement, whereas intellectual character strengths were weakly related to ethical engagement. The findings of this study provide insight into online faculty's character strengths and ethical engagement. However, further research is needed to understand the role of character strengths and ethical engagement in promoting effective teaching practices in online higher education classrooms.