Modeling One-on-one Online Tutoring Discourse using an Accountable Talk Framework
Abstract
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has been emphasizing the importance of teachers’ pedagogical communication as part of mathematical teaching and learning for decades. Specifically, NCTM has provided guidance on how teachers can foster mathematical communication that positively impacts student learning. A teacher may have different academic goals towards what needs to be achieved in a classroom, which require a variety of discourse-based tools that allow students to engage fully in mathematical thinking and reasoning. Accountable or academically productive talk is one such approach for classroom discourse that may ensure that the discussions are coherent, purposeful and productive. This paper discusses the use of a transformer model for classifying classroom talk moves based on the accountable talk framework. We investigate the extent to which the classroom Accountable Talk framework can be successfully applied to one-onone online mathematics tutoring environments. We further propose a framework adapted from Accountable Talk, but more specifically aligned to one-on-one online tutoring. The model performance for the proposed framework is evaluated and compared with a small sample of expert coding. The results obtained from the proposed framework for one-on-one tutoring are promising and improve classification performance of the talk moves for our dataset.
Students crack a secret message using this Caesar wheel as part of a challenge. CryptoComics, CC BY
Three 9-year-old girls are huddled around a Caesar wheel, an ancient tool for sharing secret messages.
Cracking a code is one of many challenges the girls complete to help characters in CryptoComics escape a mysterious cyberworld into which they’ve been drawn.
CryptoComics is a curriculum designed to teach elementary school children – particularly girls of color – about cybersecurity – the practice of keeping digital information safe – and related careers. It also teaches about cryptology – the science of making and breaking codes. The girls partake in this program as part of their after-school activities in Atlanta.
Teachers can go over important lesson plans with students. CryptoComics, CC BY
Led by a team of educators and researchers, CryptoComics strategically integrates a digital comic book, apps and unplugged activities, such as painting rocks with ancient symbols and making invisible ink. It also features stories about cybersecurity professionals who are women. CryptoComics is freely available on cryptocomics.org.
We are both researchers in educational technology and STEM education. We are examining how the program – which we both helped develop – increases awareness about careers in cybsecurity.
The overall objective of the program is to spark girls’ interest in careers in cybersecurity. While it will take years to determine whether the program has the desired effect, early research shows that participants come out knowing about more potential jobs in cybersecurity than they did before.
Kids who’ve participated in the program have told researchers they “liked those jobs introduced in CryptoComics because they keep us safe from hackers.” They also liked that “you get to work on a team to figure out codes and break them.”
Vast reach of cyberattacks
Cybersecurity touches just about everyone in some way or another – from adults in the workplace and banking to schoolchildren. For instance, cybercriminals have been launching cyberattacks against U.S. schools at a record pace – as many as two per school day in 2020. Hackers also target individuals who use public Wi-Fi.
Part of the reason is that young girls often don’t see themselves going into a field like computer science. But research shows that the attitudes elementary school children have toward STEM careers like cybersecurity can be changed. CryptoComics was designed to bring cybersecurity learning and career awareness to third to fifth grade girls through an engaging after-school curriculum.
Akila, Bai, Carly and Jabari must solve a series of puzzles from the cyberworld. CryptoComics, CC BY
The comic book, designed by media artist D.A. Jackson, begins when three friends – Akila, Carly and Bai – find a West African souvenir box belonging to Akila’s grandma. Akila takes a picture of the box with her tablet. Suddenly, she and her friends are sucked into a mysterious cyberworld.
As Akila narrates the story, students follow the girls and her little brother, Jabari, who communicates with the girls through the tablet. They crack codes and ciphers and solve puzzles. They also learn the history of cryptology and basics of cybersecurity to help the girls escape the cyberworld.
The six chapters of the comic book progress from basic information about codes and symbols to current cybersecurity practices such as creating safe passwords. Children explore important historical developments in cryptology approaches and technologies like the Navajo Code Talkers and the WAVES program. The Navajo Code Talkers were U.S. Marines of Navajo descent who used their native language to send secret messages over radio waves during WWII. WAVES – Women Accepted for Voluntarily Emergency Service – was a division of the U.S. Navy in which female cryptologists worked during WWII.
Children also use a variety of ciphers and codes to encrypt and decrypt information. This helps the comic book characters during their cyberadventure. Activities are grounded in symbols from different cultures such as a scytale from Greece, pictograms from West African and Native American culture and Freemason Pigpen ciphers.
Symbols and codes from different cultures hold important information for the main characters to use. CryptoComics, CC BY
The curriculum culminates with games and simulations in which the children learn about cybersecurity. They learn to defend their device against the person who hacked Akila’s tablet. They learn about safe password practices and how to protect themselves from brute force password cracking – that is, using a program or guesswork to try every possible password combination; phishing scams that use fake emails to get people to click on malicious links; and social engineering attacks.
For example, the comic book characters learn about social engineering when they go back in time to the British Government Code and Cypher School – now known as GCHQ. This is where they meet a WAVES servicewoman named Dorothy who turns out to be Akila’s grandma. They also meet Alan Turing, a real-life WWII cryptoanalyst.
Dorothy, Alan and the comic book characters work to crack a briefcase password using a letter found on a spy. Meanwhile, students participating in the curriculum work to crack the code via a simulation. Students learn that social engineering is a process hackers use to figure out passwords based on personal information such as a birth dates or names of family members.
Social engineering tactics are a gateway for hackers to get private information. CryptoComics, CC BY
Preparing for cybersecurity careers
Over 200 elementary school-age students – 73% girls – from diverse backgrounds in 16 after-school programs across the Southeastern U.S. have participated in CryptoComics. Preliminary research, which we oversaw, has found that children enjoy the curriculum, learn how to encrypt and decrypt information in different ways and demonstrate awareness of cybersecurity professions. They also transfer knowledge and skills gained in CryptoComics to real-life experiences.
Teachers we have spoken with also say the curriculum “can be a game changer” for participating girls. The teachers report that students “quickly retained” concepts such as enciphering and deciphering – making and breaking different kinds of messages and codes.
Some students struggled with reading the comic book. They said they wanted audio support but they didn’t want a monotone computer voice. Instead, they wanted the audio “to act like the characters.” As a result, we recruited local voice actors to narrate the comic book.
The narration can be used by students who struggle with reading or who simply prefer listening to stories. Teachers confirmed that “the narrated version of the actual comic book itself has helped tremendously.” It has made the curriculum more accessible for struggling readers.
Tremendous career opportunities exist in cybersecurity. CryptoComics represents just one way to better position young children – and especially young girls – to take advantage of these opportunities.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida (UF) on Wednesday announced a $5 million gift from Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin to drive the expansion of its K–12 computer science education program. Maya Israel, associate professor of educational technology, will lead a team of researchers and teacher educators in building both a face-to-face and an online community of practice for teacher preparation and expanding computer science education across the state of Florida.
“Education is the most powerful solution we have to enable future generations of students and teachers to realize their potential,” Griffin said. “Computer science is central to our economy, and initiatives like CSforED are vital in preparing our country’s teachers with the skills and education they need to help our students seize on the opportunities ahead.”
Griffin’s gift is part of a larger initiative focused on increasing access to high-quality computer science education across the United States and is one of four gifts that CSforAll, a central resource for individuals and organizations interested in K-12 computer science education, announced at the DEI Innovation Summit presented by Snap, Inc. on November 3.
The national philanthropic investments made by both individuals and corporations total $20 million and represent the next phase of CSforED – a CSforAll program that raises awareness of the need for computer science in teacher preparation and to build capacity in schools and colleges of education.
“This investment in the University of Florida will solidify the national leadership work UF is already engaged in and create an opportunity for Florida teachers and students to be best prepared for our current digital workforce and economy,” said Leigh Ann DeLyser, co-founder and executive director of CSforALL.
Maya Israel speaking to stakeholders at the 2021 Board of Trustees event.
With a proven track record of effective teacher preparation, along with research and programs focused on computer science education, state-wide reach and renowned faculty in its Institute of Advanced Learning Technologies, UF is uniquely positioned to expand computer science education across the state of Florida.
Building upon existing efforts around teacher development and computer science inclusion, Israel noted this gift “will allow us to bring computer science into teacher preparation at scale.” The team will work toward integrating computer science into math, science, literacy and other disciplines to address the diverse needs of students in Florida classrooms and strengthen the state’s workforce.
“Dr. Maya Israel is creating solutions for challenges faced by teachers and students in K–12 settings,” said Glenn Good, dean of the UF College of Education. “In addition to increasing equity and access, this transformative gift will help students develop the skills needed for the workforce of the future.”
The initiative will launch immediately and will follow a phased rollout over the next five years. Israel and her team will begin by bringing together researchers and teacher educators at UF and computer science education leaders from across the state to develop a coordinated vision for computer science teacher preparation before scaling up. To accomplish educator objectives, the team will engage stakeholders and expand advocacy efforts across the state, with organizations such as northeast Florida’s STEM2 Hub.
“We join the University of Florida in celebrating this major gift, which will allow stakeholders to transform the landscape for computer science education across our state through teacher education,” said Kathleen Schofield, executive director of STEM2 Hub. “By empowering educators with knowledge and skills, we will build capacity to reach students across the state and equip them with foundational computer science skills they will need, leading to full participation in the growing technology sector and economic prosperity.”
Contacts
Source: Maya Israel, associate professor of educational technology, 352-273-4169, misrael@coe.ufl.edu
The final phase of the implementation will focus on ensuring the long-term sustainability of the initiative and evaluating the model’s viability as a best-practice approach for computer science education across the country.
With the shortage of computer science teachers being identified as a major issue in the recent Action to Catalyze Tech (ACT) Report, Israel states “we must prepare teachers to have both the technical skills and instructional practices to reach all learners.”
The College of Education at the University of Florida continues its six-year tradition of being a national leader in online graduate education. Again this year, UF is the nation’s top online graduate education degree program according to the 2021 Best Online Programs rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.
UF earned the No. 1 spot nationally out of 296 other colleges of education for online graduate degree programs. The college has earned the top rank four of the last six years (2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021), dipping only one spot in 2018 and 2020.
Students’ experiences and outcomes are continually being enhanced through faculty embracing the research and best practices identified by scholars associated with the college’s Educational Technology program, Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies, and new Artificial Intelligence in Education initiative.
“This ranking reflects acknowledgement by higher education leaders across the country that we have exceptional students, develop and apply engaging methods of instruction, and employ superb faculty and staff well trained in supporting the needs of students at any stage of their careers,” said Tom Dana, senior associate dean and director of the Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies.
Specialty Area Rankings
Last year, U.S. News began ranking specialty areas of Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Administration and Supervision, Special Education and Educational/Instructional Media Design, “to help guide prospective students who have particular interest in pursuing a degree or coursework with one of these focuses.”
These specialty area rankings are based on peer assessment of academic reputation. Eligibility requirements include the institution having “received at least five ratings from peer institutions, been ranked in the main online master’s in education rankings, and verified in the peer assessment they offer the specialty or else had this verified by U.S. News.”
The college was recognized as leaders in all of these specialty areas, with the following rankings:
“Our extraordinary faculty collaborate with ever-increasing effectiveness to provide the highest caliber of engaged educational experiences for our online students,” said College of Education Dean Glenn Good. “Faculty are developing and studying learning technology innovations.
“It is natural that their discoveries become incorporated into college-wide exceptional instructional practices. Ultimately, the successes of our online students have elevated the college’s academic reputation, which is recognized by our peers across the nation.”
The college has placed emphasis on a growing demand for online learning for years, as evidenced by continuous strong performance in rankings, and has developed a highly-skilled team of instructional designers, videographers and editors, web and graphic designers, and systems developers. The e-Learning, Technology and Communications team works in partnership with faculty and students to implement best practices and build learning environments that leverage emerging technologies and support learning objectives.
“Our expert faculty have worked closely with our instructional and graphic designers and videographers to continuously refine the online learning experience for our students,” said Jason Arnold, director of e-Learning, Technology and Communications. “We use the most current research and frequent student feedback to always improve so that we may create courses that truly prepare and empower students.”
According to U.S. News, a master’s degree in education can help further careers in teaching, instructional design and educational administration. Programs are ranked based on five general categories: student engagement (30 percent), student services and technology (20 percent), expert opinion (20 percent), faculty credentials and training (20 percent), and student excellence (10 percent).
“We are proud to have regained the No. 1 ranking,” Good said. “It is a direct reflection of the work our faculty and staff have done to provide our distance learners with an exceptional education.”
Testimonials
Alyson Adams, Ph.D.
Our online programs are not online simply for convenience; we purposefully design online programs for full time educators because we want their workplaces to become the laboratories for their learning. What they learn in their online classes is situated and connected to their daily work. Our students use practitioner research or inquiry to examine their contexts and make meaningful change for their students, teachers, leaders, families, and communities. They develop as educational leaders who disrupt the st atus quo and challenge systemic inequities in their contexts and beyond.
Alyson Adams, Ph.D. Associate Director for Teaching and Teacher Education
Catherine G. Atria, Ph.D.
UF faculty, comprised of nationally known, experienced and successful school leaders and researchers, are approachable and available with a rich presence in their courses through the use of videoed lectures, robust discussion forums and experiential just-in-time learning activities. Synchronous opportunities exist within courses affording collaborative relationships with peers, instructors, and other content experts. Students are able to easily and quickly contact and connect with instructors via the course management system, video-conferencing, email and telephone.
Our program utilizes a cohort model with each group of newly accepted students progressing through coursework together. In this way, deep collegial peer relationships are formed transcending the program and continuing long after graduation.
Coursework in the program is designed using best practices in online instruction and relevant and up-to-date research on school leadership. We successfully bridge the gap between research and practice as students engage in experiential learning opportunities applicable to both their current work environment and future career endeavors.
Catherine G. Atria, Ph.D. Program Coordinator, Educational Leadership Online M.Ed.
Magdalena Castañeda, Ph.D.
TLSI is a “job-embedded” online graduate program. This means everything students learn is directly related to their practice, no matter what their role is in education. Students make major shifts in their practice that demonstrate their development in the 3 TLSI goals: Teacher Leader, Teacher Researcher and Master Teacher.
The program helps teachers feel empowered to come out of their comfort zone to become leaders in their school living up to the program name, Teacher Leadership for School Improvement. Becoming leaders entails sliding their classroom doors open and sharing their practice and what they are learning in the TLSI graduate program. This is significant because enrolling in this graduate program benefits not just one teacher and one classroom but their colleagues and all students at their school. There is a mind shift in that it’s not just about my students and my classroom, but all students.
Magdalena Castañeda, Ph.D. Program Coordinator, Teacher Leadership for School Improvement (TLSI)
Domenic Durante, M.Ed.
The College of Education is the meeting place between educational theory and instructional best practice with both our instructors and supporting instructional design team collaborating on the design of online courses that actively promote and create a community of practice.
Faculty in the Reading and Literacy education program has invested a considerable amount of time in identifying, recruiting, preparing, and graduating highly qualified candidates from the state, nationally, and internationally. Our enrollment is at a historic high. Our students benefit tremendously from a rigorous, flexible curriculum that addresses practical concerns of those “in the trenches” and a dedicated faculty that is knowledgeable, supportive, and accessible.
Zhihui Fang, Ph.D. Program Coordinator, Reading and Literacy Online M.Ed.
Cliff Haynes, Ph.D.
The online program in Student Personnel in Higher Education focuses on the practical application of the competencies of student affairs educators while incorporating technology into every class. Our graduates have been using technology to build community and to learn and are able to be forward thinking when asked to perform their duties virtually or remotely.
Cliff Haynes, Ph.D. Program Coordinator, Student Personnel in Higher Education (SPHE) Online M.Ed.
Daneen Johnson
Beyond the classroom, students in our online programs have access to career readiness resources including customized virtual career workshops, individual coaching sessions and career conversations designed to help create opportunities for students to feel empowered in their professional growth now and after graduation. These resources and programs are also infused into the curriculum for some of our online programs.
Daneen Johnson Assistant Director for Integrated Partnerships – Education Career Connections Center & College of Education
UF improved one spot to No. 3 in the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs rankings.
The Bachelor of Arts in Education Sciences is one of the college’s newer programs designed to establish a foundation of knowledge, to allow graduates to pursue a variety of careers in the field of education. New to the college’s bachelor offering are the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood and the Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. Both programs are set to launch in fall 2021.
For more information on the college’s distance learning program, visit online.education.ufl.edu.
Contacts
Source: Tom Dana, senior associate dean, UF College of Education, 352-273-4134
Source: Jason Arnold, director of e-learning, UF College of Education, 352-273-4442
Writer: Kevin Coulson, communications manager, UF College of Education, 352-273-4370
Education opens the door to endless pathways of opportunity, but equity in education remains among society’s most pressing challenges, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
With a background rooted in special education and a path forged through advocacy-based research, Maya Israel, associate professor of educational technology, has dedicated her career to increasing equity, improving access and expanding inclusion in STEM to foster success for all learners.
“Especially when we’re thinking about students with disabilities, there are some long-standing biases about what kids can and can’t do,” she said. “… There’s this perception that they’re not or can’t be as successful as their peers, and that’s simply not the case.”
Israel, who also serves as the research director of Creative Technology Research Lab (CTRL), a UF lab that investigates how to meaningfully engage all learners in technology-mediated learning, has a robust research agenda with a special focus on K-12 computer science (CS) education, computational thinking and Universal Design for Learning.
“My K-12 teaching background, essentially, makes me think about how we can intervene to help students be successful,” she said. “… I like the analogy of reading: There are some students who pick up reading very quickly and then there are other students who need some more explicit instruction. At the end of the day, they’re all going to be effective readers, but some students need an approach that’s a little bit more targeted.”
Maya Israel, Ph.D.
Through a variety of interdisciplinary, collaborative research projects, Israel is examining these issues from all directions — identifying existing and persisting barriers, and exploring instructional strategies, learning processes and innovative technologies that can build much needed bridges.
The partnership will include P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, Broward County Public Schools, New York City Public Schools and the San Francisco Unified School District to explore ways to expand inclusion in CS education for students with disabilities.
“We’re at the point where students with disabilities are generally included in computer science education, Israel said, “but, oftentimes, teachers don’t have the pedagogical tools to support them in a way that is accessible, engaging and inclusive.”
Among her latest research endeavors are:
UDL4CS
Universal Design for Learning for Computer Science (UDL4CS): Partnership for Inclusive Elementary Computer Science Education, Funded by the National Science Foundation
A Research Practice Partnership, UDL4CS aims to build sustainable partnerships among districts across the country around the shared problem of practice of fostering equitable K-8 CS education and meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities. The team, led by Israel, will examine the current level of inclusion of K-12 students with disabilities and explore the barriers to inclusion that are unique and shared among districts. Based on the findings, the team will create web-based professional development resources to build the capacity of CS educators and equip them with the tools to support all learners.
Including Neurodiversity in Foundational and Applied Computational Thinking (INFACT), Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Education and Innovation Research program
Leveraging a consortium of leading researchers and practitioners in computational thinking led by TERC, INFACT seeks to design an inclusive, comprehensive computational thinking program to support a wide range of learners in grades 3-8. Utilizing novel methods, such as eye-tracking and facial recognition, the team is developing responsive technologies for the program to provide adaptive, customized pacing based on students’ individual strengths and struggles as well as embedded supports to aid in student attention, metacognition and social-emotional learning.
The C-COI was born in response to the need for a more nuanced way to understand the learning processes of K-12 students while they engage in computational thinking and programming activities. Developed through dynamic, multi-year efforts with a diverse team of researchers and collaborators, the C-COI grew from white boards, to spreadsheets, to finally a video analysis instrument that allows researchers to study students’ computational behaviors. This video analysis instrument can help researchers better understand students’ time on tasks, persistence, help seeking and help giving, collaborative problem solving, social behaviors and challenges faced while computing. The C-COI tool was recently made available for use to researchers across the country.
“Ultimately, what we want to provide kids with the tools to be expert learners on their own and to provide teachers with the tools and the strategies they need to support students,” she said.
Israel recognizes the power in collaboration to build a brighter future where boundless opportunity is possible for all learners. Among her latest collaborative efforts driven by a passion to transform education is the UF College of Education’s newly forming Institute of Advanced Learning Technologies (IALT).
IALT coalesces the power of researchers in educational technology, learning analytics and related fields to find data-driven emerging and advanced technology-based solutions to dramatically improve learning outcomes globally.
Supporting learning technology faculty and student researchers, state of the art labs and teaching facilities, and academic, industry and government partners, the institute will demonstrate the university’s collective power in creating and disseminating advanced learning technologies that improve learning outcomes on an international scale.
“If we can bring together people that have different areas and backgrounds — that’s where the innovation happens,” Israel said.
Look for Maya Israel on an upcoming episode of Unstoppable Minds, a podcast from the University of Florida looking at the challenges and triumphs that come with a life in academia and research: ufl.edu/unstoppableminds
