Title: Limiting resources to build classroom community in a flipped pre-service teacher course for pre-service middle school teachers

Authors: Rebecca Dibbs; Janessa Beach; Daniel Rios

Addresses: Texas A&M University-Commerce, Binnion Hall Room 318, P.O. Box 2011 Commerce, TX 75429, USA ' Department of Mathematics, The University of Texas at Arlington, P.O. Box 19408, 1225 West Mitchell, Arlington, TX 76019, USA ' J.L. Long Middle School, 6116 Reiger Ave., Dallas, TX 75214, USA

Abstract: Students are at risk of struggling academically and socially in the first two semesters following a transfer to a university setting. Helping transfer students in this critical period is complicated by a large variance in students' prerequisite knowledge. A flipped classroom with a large group work component may help students form cohort bonds; however, it is difficult to get groups of students comfortable enough to engage in such discussions. The purpose of this mixed method case study was to investigate how limiting groups' resources to a single smartpen and notebook helped students form a strong classroom community that integrates all students. Sixteen pre-service middle school teachers from seven different transfer institutions were enrolled in a flipped precalculus course using smartpens to record their activities. Findings indicated that the smartpens helped students build stronger cohort bonds and encouraged students to confront their own misconceptions about the material.

Keywords: smartpen; mathematics education; flipped classroom; classroom community; pre-service teachers; pre-calculus; transfer students; mixed methods; social network; USA; undergraduates.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2018.093814

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2018 Vol.5 No.1, pp.12 - 30

Received: 21 Dec 2016
Accepted: 02 Feb 2018
Published online: 06 Aug 2018 *

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