Evrim Baran, an Iowa State University alumna known worldwide for applying technology to improve teaching and learning, returned to Iowa State this spring being a faculty member.
Baran, who received her doctorate from Iowa State last year, joined the varsity of Education as being an associate professor in educational technology. Her research brings together educational technology, teacher education, and human computer interaction (HCI).
“I’ve enjoyed a long fascination with designing and studying teacher education environments which use technology in innovative ways and enhance teachers’ learning experiences,” she said.
Experience both at home and abroad
Baran prepares teachers to effectively use emerging technology such as mobile apps into their classrooms. She achieves this in three settings: teacher education, college, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Her teaching style is practice-oriented and student-centered, where she’s also among the list of learners in the class.
“We now are getting teachers that are already in contact with these technologies,” she said. “But knowing technologies does not necessarily signify they do know using it for teaching and learning. So our job could be to suggest to them uses of them effectively while in the classroom – not for the health of using technology, but with these to reinforce learning environments within their subject areas.”
Baran previously worked as an instructor and researcher at Iowa State for five-years. During her doctoral studies, she taught and consulted for that Center for Technology in mastering and Teaching (CTLT) – a learning environment that applies technology to increase student learning.
But she’s also taught and researched on three continents plus four countries like the U.S.A., Canada, Turkey, and Germany.
For the past five-years, Baran served for assistant professor in educational sciences at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. She also served as associate director on the Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) there. In advance of that, she was really a postdoctoral fellow for the University of Bc in Canada. That’s allowed her to carry out international research.
“I had to be able to observe different teacher education environments and exactly how different countries prepare teachers for effective technology integration in classrooms,” she said. “I feel that also makes my research unique due to there being this international research aspect. I get a broader observation of programs – how things work effectively as well as what things failed.”
Interdisciplinary work across campus
In 2015, Baran received the initial career award on the American Educational Research Association (AERA)’s Technology for an Agent for Improvement in Learning and teaching special interest group.
“Evrim is usually a terrific scholar,” said Isaac Gottesman, a part professor that’s division head coaching, learning, leadership, and policy inside the School of Education. “She is rolling out a universal track record of her work. We’ve been lucky to get her come back to Iowa State. I’ve without doubt she’ll contribute greatly for the school along with the university.”
Baran researches the digitalization of higher education – areas between online teaching to your integration of mobile technologies into school classrooms. In Turkey, she initiated a faculty technology mentoring program that transformed faculty members’ teaching practices with technologies and helped spread the employment of innovations all over the university.
She also investigates teachers’ and students’ learning progressions in STEM-related practices including engineering and design thinking. Her recent projects provide learning the possiblility to at-risk and disadvantaged students, and help develop their attitudes and interests toward STEM education and careers.
Her scientific studies are interdisciplinary. She looks forward to connecting along with other faculty on campus and with those involved with engineering, human computer interaction, and style.
“Recently, I began investigating utilizing some tools like eye tracking and video-based analysis to find out how novice and expert teachers use technology differently inside their classrooms,” she said. “I’m bringing the various tools and methodologies from HCI to trace teachers’ knowledge for action.”
Finding balance with utilization of technology
Teacher educators need to be heroines for integrating technology effectively while in the classroom, Baran said. Taking practice. If technologies are not used properly or forced upon people, it might create other challenges and will lead those employing it to be resistant.
“Sometimes, you won’t need to use technology in the least to produce a rich learning experience,” she said. “Technology isn’t an must almost every learning environment.”
Baran uses the exact same approach within their life – using technology only if necessary when it serves an intention. She acknowledges that’s tough nowadays.
“Sometimes, you simply need to read a guide which has no distraction,” she said. “I’m also concious of troubles of technologies in classrooms maybe in our everyday life. There’s no doubt that which we should start concentrating on those challenges, too – issues just like privacy or a lot of technology inside the classroom, cognitive load. Around my personal life and my teaching, I try to balance it.”
