Description:  One of my first courses in Duquesne's Instructional Technology doctoral program was GDIT 703, Foundations of Instructional Technology.  In this course, personal bibliographies were created through the reading and annotation of research in order to achieve the objective of  identifying and discussing current research in the field of Instructional Technology.   Teacher preparation and the instruction of effective practices in technology integration unite when curriculum design and research are based upon both seminal and innovative educational theorists.  Research findings from Shulman (1986), Koehler and Mishra (2005; 2008), Lee, J., (2008), Niess, (2008) and Hofer and Harris (2011) were the motivation for this study integrating technology, content and pedagogy to equip pre-service teachers with essential knowledge for designing effective lesson plans. 

Reflection:  The reading completed in this course helped to build the foundational knowledge for the study presented at the ISTE Conference.  Collaborating with another cohort member and Dr. Carbonara added to both my knowledge and communication skills as we synthesized our understanding into a poster presentation. What a privilege it was to meet and talk to so many interesting colleagues at the ISTE Conference. I had cogent conversations with doctoral students, PK-12 teachers, higher education faculty, and administrators.  These individuals came from all over the world, including a professor I met from Australia.  Aside from the value of collaborating and sharing knowledge with one another, this experience helped me to gain a confidence in myself and in my ability to be a leader by inspiring others to continue learning and growing.  During my presentation, there is one conversation in particular that I remember.  As we were talking, the light bulb went off and there was a perceptible awareness on this teacher's face that assured both of us that my research was important and useful.  This teacher left by thanking me and telling me that she now had a concrete and relevant idea that she knew she could implement because of our conversation about TPACK.