Module and Course Development Grant
Purdue University
Building Visions/Transforming Practice
Abstract
This proposal addresses professional development needs for k-12 teachers in the area of technology integration. The proposed course fills an established need for teachers who wish to learn how to use technology for instructional purposes and does so using a delivery format that accommodates teachers' scheduling constraints. The proposed course will be delivered using a combination of CD-ROM and Web-based technologies through WebCT. Teachers will view video vignettes of exemplary technology-using teachers and reflect on the pedagogical beliefs and practices of these exemplary teachers. They will then reflect on their own educational approaches and, within the framework of educational best practices, initiate the change process within their own classrooms. By providing access to electronic models of technology-using teachers this distance course will help both current and future teachers envision and achieve technology integration. The distance learning approach ensures that teachers can participate at their own time and from their own locations. Teachers will engage in a variety of online discussion activities including reflection, observation of models, and collaboration with peers. For the successful completion of this project we request a grant award of $19,240.
1-2. Need to be addressed and learners to be served
Need for professional development related to technology integration
In 1995, the Office of Technology Assessment stated that "the challenge of integrating technology into schools is much more human than technological. It is about helping people, primarily teachers, integrate these technologies into their teaching as tools of a profession that is being redefined through the process" (p. 28). More recently, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2000) reported that 99 percent of full-time regular public school teachers had access to computers or the Internet in their schools. Thus, the problem of getting more teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms is not primarily due to a lack of access to computers. NCES (2000) findings suggest, instead, a strong need for professional development for k-12 teachers:
- Teachers with more hours
of professional development reported feeling better prepared to use
computers and the Internet for classroom instruction. Teachers with
fewer hours of professional development reported feeling unprepared
to use computers and the Internet.
- Teachers with more hours
of professional development tended to use computers for constructivist
activities like problem solving or graphical presentations. Teachers
with fewer hours tended to use the computers for activities like drill
and practice.
In-service teachers are often isolated in their uses of technology and have little exposure to peers who successfully integrate technology in their classrooms. Due to limitations of time and resources, teachers may not have access to realistic examples of how other teachers have translated their visions into practice within existing classroom situations. In general, teachers have difficulty finding time to take part in professional development activities. Web-based professional development, however, allows teachers to examine issues and techniques related to technology integration at convenient times and places.
Need to develop visions of technology integration
"Most teachers will find little incentive to tackle the technical and scheduling problems associated with technology unless they have a clear vision of how the technology can improve teaching and learning" (Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1993, p. 83). Currently the majority of professional development courses focus on increasing teachers' technical skills and competencies for using specific software applications with little time spent promoting educational best practices related to technology integration. As a result, even though most of our educators realize the importance of technology integration they do not have opportunities to examine and reflect on the beliefs and practices of other teachers who are currently integrating technology. Without these examples, teachers' visions for integrated practice remain narrow and unimaginative.
Need for exemplary models of technology
Although pockets of exemplary technology practice exist, few teachers have opportunities to observe integrated technology practice in their local schools or to examine the beliefs and visions that support exemplary use. Thus, this project emphasizes the use of electronic models (currently CD-ROM, but ultimately web-based) as the primary means for helping teachers develop powerful visions of, and strategies for, technology integration. Our hope is to encourage teachers not just to use technology but to use it in ways that align with educational best practices.
3. Rationale for choice of course and technology to be used
The proposed Web-based course is an extension of a multimedia CD-ROM development project. The CD-ROM, VisionQuest©, affords users the opportunity to examine different uses of technology through classroom video examples of exemplary technology-using teachers. The video examples transport users into the classrooms of exemplary teachers so that they can examine the instructional practices, classroom organization, and curricular emphases of exceptional users of technology. They can see for themselves the roles played by the students, the teacher, and technology in a classroom where technology is integrated. Users can examine how teachers' visions guide their uses of technology and how visions are translated into classroom practice.
This online professional development experience will be in the form of a WebCT course that will enable in-service teachers to engage in conversation about technology use. This will provide opportunities for teachers to socially construct knowledge and engage in constructivist learning. Because of the distance education format it will also meet the scheduling needs of in-service teachers and thus, a wider audience can be reached than through traditional professional development efforts. Teachers will be able to come together as an electronic community and talk about their guiding pedagogical visions, aspects of classroom organization, and assessment practices. Through modeling, teachers will mentor and mutually encourage each other. Research has shown this to be a very effective professional development tool (Bandura, 1999).
To promote teachers' development as exemplary technology-using teachers we will provide opportunities for teachers to observe exemplary uses of technology and to compare their existing beliefs and approaches with those of the teachers observed. Teachers will then be encouraged to reflect on their pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices. As teachers begin to adopt new values and teaching approaches, this will lead to the refinement of teaching practices. By modeling constructivist teaching approaches, we encourage participants to engage their own students in the construction of meaning through self-directed inquiry, guided activity, and community-based co-participation. By allowing teachers to experience effective learning on the Web, teachers come to understand and appreciate the true power of the Web as a teaching/learning tool (Wilson & Lowry, 2000).
4-5. Institution's capacity and commitment to the module development project
Helping educators integrate technology is one of the important missions of the School of Education (see Letter of Support from the Associate Dean of the School, Appendix C). Numerous faculty members in the School of Education are currently involved in professional development efforts in k-12 schools and play an active role in outreach programs such as the Technology Implementation Program (TIP), P3T3 (Purdue's Plan for Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology), PDS (Professional Development School) sites and other courses taught on-site (Literacy Block, EDCI 560).
Specifically, this course will be composed of three stand-alone modules (described below) and will be offered for credit through Continuing Education and the Office of Lifelong Learning. On completion of all three modules, students will earn 3 credits. Partial credits will be awarded to students completing one or two modules and can be used for license renewal purposes. In addition, each stand-alone module will be available for use in other teacher preparation courses in the teacher education program at Purdue.
6. Instructional design and delivery plan
The online course will be delivered through a combination of CD-ROM and Web-based technology. This course is designed to make any-time, any-place instruction possible and will use the WebCT environment for delivery of instruction. The course will initiate teacher reflection through the use of video segments, which will be followed by a series of on-line discussion activities. These activities will revolve around a model of professional development that facilitates reflection on, and the transformation of, classroom practice (see Appendix A). The following six steps (adapted from NCREL's Professional Development Model -
http://www.ncrtec.org/pd/lwtres/npdm.pdf)
outline the sequence of activities that will be used to facilitate teachers'
changing beliefs and practices: - Reflect on current knowledge
- Observe models and cases
- Reflect on practice
- Initiate changes
- Reflect on changes
- Modify and extend understanding
- provide access to rich
sources of information (addressed through CD-ROM and Web-based content)
- encourage meaningful interactions
with content (on-line discussion board)
- bring people together to
challenge, support or respond to each other (on-line discussion board)
Module 1: Planning for Technology Integration
- Forming a Vision for Technology Integration
- Getting Started with Technology Integration
- Identifying Incentives and
Overcoming Barriers to Technology Integration
- Classroom Roles within an Integrated Classroom
- Classroom Organization within an Integrated Classroom
- Curricular Emphases within
an Integrated Classroom
- Teacher Assessment within an Integrated Classroom
- Student Assessment within an Integrated Classroom
- Sample Assessment Tools
used within an Integrated Classroom
The purpose of this online course is to help current and future educators envision and achieve technology integration by providing access to electronic models of technology-using teachers. By examining both the pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices of exemplary technology-using peers, teachers will gain a better understanding of how technology can be used (the practical considerations), as well as why it should be used (the supporting pedagogy) to enhance and transform current classroom practice.
In-service teachers are isolated from their peers, have time constraints, and find it difficult to take part in professional training workshops. The need for any-time, any-place instruction will be addressed through the Web-based delivery of this course. In-service teachers need access to peer models and more opportunities and time to develop visions of integrated technology use. This will be addressed through Web-based video examples of classroom situations. The need for discussion, dialog and community support to facilitate changes in teachers' beliefs will be addressed through the use of WebCT's collaboration tools: synchronous and asynchronous discussion, threaded discussions, bulletin board, email, and chat. Additionally there will be an ask-the-expert component moderated by the exemplary teachers featured on the CD-ROM.
8. Module or course evaluation plan
Formative evaluation data from 100 pre-service teachers are currently being gathered (Fall 2000) regarding content, navigation, and interface of the CD-ROM. Revisions will be made at the end of the semester and prior to conversion to web delivery.
Formative evaluation of the proposed online course will be conducted with a pilot group of in-service teachers (n=20) during the Spring 2001 semester.
Modifications will be completed during the Summer of 2001.
Individual modules will be piloted in the Fall semester (2001) with both pre- and in-service teachers, after which final modifications to the Web site will be completed. Impact data will also be gathered to determine module effectiveness.
9. Potential contribution of the Project to other instructional efforts, on and off campus
See sections 4 & 5. Also see letters of support from Dr. Ed Eiler, Superintendent of the Lafayette School Corporation, and Kathleen Steele, Coordinator of Curriculum and Innovative Programs for the Crawfordsville Community School Corporation.
10. Information about how the module or course fits into other efforts in Indiana
To our knowledge, there are no online professional development courses for k-12 educators in Indiana such as the one proposed here. What distinguishes this course from the few technology courses being offered via distance technology is that this course focuses on helping educators envision and achieve technology integration. These are not skill-based modules but rather vision-generating and strategy-building modules.
11. Marketing plan
Information about this course will be disseminated in the following ways:
- advertisement on the Web
pages of: School of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Center for
Lifelong Learning and Continuing Education, and the personal Web site
of the Principal investigator, Peg Ertmer
- mailings to school districts
in Indiana targeting people responsible for professional development
- brochures distributed through
the Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL)
- postings to the Indiana
Computer Educators (ICE) listserv and notices in their newsletter publications
Spring 2001, beginning - Course Planning phase
- Interview and select graduate
practicum students/graduate assistants
- Decide on individual modules
and collaboration tools
- Ask-the-expert
- Conference board
- Threaded discussion
- Synchronous and asynchronous
discussion
- Ask-the-expert
- Add content to modules
- Finalize student activities, assignments, and student evaluation activities
- Design WebCT interface (after
looking at other similar online courses)
- Develop WebCT interface
- Identify CD-ROM segments
to be integrated with the WebCT course
- Prepare video segments
for the web
- Plug-in video segments
to the WebCT course
- Complete formative evaluation
with a pilot group of pre-service and in-service teachers
- Use formative evaluation
data and modify WebCT course
- Modify course Web site
and finalize work
- Market course
- Complete registration for
the course
- Offer course for in-service
teachers
- Gather evaluation data
- Make modifications and
finalize Web site
Professor Ertmer -Project Co-Director - Peg Ertmer will be responsible for overseeing the development of the content of the online course and will share responsibilities with Dr. Johnson for facilitating the delivery of the course. Dr. Ertmer is Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at Purdue University. Her areas of expertise include case-based instruction, technology integration, and self-regulated learning strategies. She has worked extensively with teachers and teacher educators on issues related to technology integration.
Professor Johnson - Project Co-Director - Tristan Johnson will be responsible for the production of Web course materials. This will include the processing of the video content and complete testing of the revised interface on both the Microsoft and Macintosh platforms. Dr. Johnson will also coordinate the formative evaluation of the Web materials with several outside reviewers. Professor Johnson expertise is in the design, development, and implementation of learning technology tools. His research is also focused on the use of the Web as a tool for professional development activities.
Graduate Assistants - Two graduate assistants will be hired to assist in course design and development, specifically related to converting CD-ROM content to web-based format.
14. Budget narrative
Salaries and Wages
Project Graduate Students-$17,240-We will hire two graduate students to design and produce the instructional materials for this project. Their time during the three months during the spring semester will be .25 FTE each student. During the summer this will increase to .50 FTE and then in the fall semester, it will decrease back to .25 FTE. The two positions will include the following:
- Course Designer-detailing
the instructional design of the course including objectives, learning
activities, strategies, and assessment.
- Course Developer-creating
the electronic materials including testing the logistics for delivery
on varying bandwidths and on dual platforms.
Postage/Fax/Copying-$500-This will cover expenses included in our marketing plan such as mailings and creating brochures. Information will be sent to school districts in Indiana, Indiana Computer Educators, and distributed through the Center for Lifelong Learning at Purdue University.
Development Software-$1500-This includes the purchase of software such as Media Cleaner Pro to "scrub" down the video to a size deliverable via the web. We will also purchase Macromedia Flash (to create the animations for the section introductions), Fireworks (graphic editing for the web), Dreamweaver (for the framework for the web materials), and SoundEdit 16 (for editing the audio).
Matching Funds
Project Co-Directors-Peg Ertmer and Tristan Johnson will provide approximately 13% for eight months of their academic year to the project, for a total of $10,931. Responsibilities are delineated in section 13.
References
Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of personality. In D. Cervone & Y. Shoda (Eds.), The coherence of personality: Social-cognitive bases of consistency, variablility, and organization (pp. 185-241). New York:The Guildord Press.
D'Amico, J. (1998). Learning with technology: Integrating new technologies into classroom instruction. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).
U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (1999). Teacher use of computers and the Internet in public schools. Washington, DC: NCES 2000-090.
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (1993). Using technology to support education reform. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.
Office of Technology Assessment (1995). Teachers and technology: Making the connection. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Wilson, B., & Lowry, M. (2000). Constructivist learning on the web. [Online]. Available: http://ceo.cudenver.edu/~brent_wilson/WebLearning.html.
Appendix A
Professional Development Model
| 1. Reflect on Current Knowledge |
| Teachers consider their existing ideas about teaching and learning with technology. By making current ideas explicit, teachers are primed to consider differences between themselves and the models they observe. |
| 2. Observe Models and Cases |
| Teachers observe others who use technology in their teaching. Observations revolve around the teachers who are highlighted on the CD-ROM. |
| 3. Reflect on Practice |
| Teachers consider how their ideas and teaching practices compare to those observed. They are encouraged to note how and why they may or may not initiate practices similar to those observed. |
| 4. Initiate Changes |
| Teachers design and implement technology-based lessons with students in their own classrooms. |
| 5. Reflect on Changes |
| Teachers reflect on how well the lessons they implemented accomplished the intended goals. They reflect on both the challenges and benefits to initiated practices and consider their own k-12 students' responses to the changes. |
| 6. Modify and Extend Understanding |
| Teachers discuss their instructional changes with others and consider overall usefulness and effectiveness. Based on conversations with others, teachers outline their next steps for development. |
Appendix B
Project Co-Directors' Experience
Peggy A. Ertmer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University
| Academic Degrees: | |||
| B.A. | University of Denver | 1973 | Elementary Education |
| M.A. | Cardinal Stritch College | 1976 | Special Education - Learning Disabilities |
| Ph.D. | Purdue University | 1995 | Instructional Research and Development |
Professional Experience: Elementary classroom teacher (1973-74); Teacher of children with learning disabilities (1975-1983); Consultant to DowBrands, Inc. on Office Professional Development Project (1992) and on the redesign of the Employee Orientation Process (1993); Administrative assistant to division coordinator of Educational Computing and Instructional Design (1991-1995); Visiting assistant professor in Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University (1995-1996) and in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (1996-1997); Assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University (1997-present)
Selected Publications:
Hruskocy, C., Cennamo, K. S., Ertmer, P. A., & Johnson, T. (2000). Creating a community of technology users: Students become technology experts for teachers and peers. Journal of Technology in Teacher Education, 8(1), 69-84.
Ertmer, P. A., Addison, P., Lane, M., Ross, E., & Woods, D. (1999). Examining teachers' beliefs about the role of technology in the elementary classroom. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32(1/2), 54-72
Ertmer, P. A., & Hruskocy, C. (1999). Impacts of a university-elementary school partnership designed to support technology integration. Educational Technology Research and Development,47(1), 81-96.
Ertmer, P. A. (1999). Addressing first- and second-order barriers to change: Strategies for technology integration. Educational Technology Research and Development, 47(4), 47-61.
Ertmer, P.A., & Quinn, J. (Eds.). (1999). The ID CaseBook: Case studies in instructional design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.
Tristan E. Johnson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University
Academic Degrees
- Doctor of Philosophy, Program in Educational Technology, Purdue University,
1999
- Master of Arts in Biomedical Communication, Media Development/Instructional
Design, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas,
1993
- Bachelor of Science in Biology University of Utah, 1991
- Assistant Professor of Educational Technology-1999 to current-Program
in Educational Technology, Department of Curriculum and Instruction,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- Research Assistant and Instructional Researcher-1996 to 1999-BioMedia
Center for Instructional Design, Department of Biological Science, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- Educational Technologist-1995 to 1998-Purdue University, West Lafayette,
Indiana
- Johnson, T.E., & Gedney, C. (March 1998) Protocol Analysis: Systematic
vs. Non-systematic Approaches. Paper published in the 1998 Selected
Conference Proceedings, International Society for Performance Improvement,
1998 International Conference and Expo, Chicago.
- Johnson, T.E., & Clayson, C.A. (January 1998) The Use of Instructional
Simulations and Web-Based Interactivity for Teaching Numerical Ocean
Modeling. Paper published in the Conference Proceedings at the 78th
American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting-Phoenix: Seventh Symposium
on Education; Second Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction
and Processes; and Ninth Conference on Interaction of the Sea and Atmosphere.
- Johnson, T.E., & Clayson, C. A. (1998) Students as Simulation
Designers and Developers--Using Computer Simulations for Teaching Boundary
Layer, Processes. ERIC Publications. ED 419 516
Letters of Support
C.1. Richard Lesh, Associate Dean of Research and Development, School of Education, Purdue University
C.2. Edward Eiler, Superintendent of Lafayette School Corporation, Lafayette, IN
C.3. Kathleen Steele, Coordinator of Curriculum and Innovative Programs, Crawfordsville Community Schools
