Faculty Members Presents at International Society for Technology in Education Conference
Lucretia M. Fraga, Ph.D., associate professor, and Deepti Kharod, assistant professor, in the Teacher Education Program at the Dreeben School of Education co-presented “Using Choice Board with Preservice Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic” at the annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. ISTE is a global community of educators using technology to transform teaching and learning through innovative solutions.
“We were pleased to present this content to an online audience that was made up of K-12 and higher education faculty,” said Dr. Fraga.
The presentation covered an action research study focusing on higher education with the idea that approaches such as high-impact practices consider the learning needs of students. They explained how differentiated instruction goes further to address the needs of individual students due to the ample research to support the importance in K-12 settings. However, the research rarely addresses higher education use of choice boards with students.
“Choice boards are widely used in K-12 learning but not in higher ed. They are an excellent tool to increase student engagement by letting students choose from a menu of activities. Dr. Fraga and I created an online choice board for undergraduates in two sections of the Learning Theories courses in Spring 2020 in response to the pandemic. The choice board allowed for flexibility in how students learned (content and resources) and how they expressed what they knew (assessment),” said Dr. Kharod.
Dr. Fraga has a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching with an emphasis in Instructional Technology. She has worked in the field of instructional technology for over 20 years. She has provided professional development to students, faculty, and staff in how to use technology for instructional purposes. Dr. Fraga’s expertise includes pedagogical practices, instructional technology and design, teacher education and professional development of faculty in higher education.
Dr. Kharod’s teaching focuses on early childhood and elementary education. Her research involves young children’s relationships with nature including the role of play and caring. Dr. Kharod serves as co-editor of Early Years, the official journal of TXAEYC. She also serves as the UIW chapter counselor for Kappa Delta Pi, an international education honor society. Prior to teaching pre-service teachers, Dr. Kharod taught elementary students for 10 years in San Antonio.