What is Methods Courses

The teacher education program at Brigham Young University (BYU) includes three stages of development in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) (Thompson & Mishra, 2007). The first stage consists of experience in a technology course with sections specific to early childhood education, elementary education, and secondary content areas. The next stage includes a series of methods courses in which instructors expand on the work of the introductory technology course. The third stage of technology development occurs during the final field experience. The candidates complete a Teacher Work Sample (TWS) (Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher Quality, 2001) that must have a technology component. At each stage our candidates have consistent criteria for how technology should be appropriately used in active learning. These criteria are key to the lessons candidates develop that incorporate technology. This chapter describes each stage and how our program has worked to improve technology understanding of our candidates.