In-Service Teacher Development for Fostering Problem-Based Integration of Technology

1. In-Service Teacher Development for Fostering Problem-Based Integration of Technology James D. Lehman Peggy A. Ertmer Purdue University Kathleen Keck Kathleen Steele Crawfordsville Community Schools

2. Background • Increasingly students need to develop problem-solving skills • Changing expectations require new instructional approaches • Student-centered instruction helps meet 21st-century needs

3. Problem/Project-Based Learning • Emphasizes: • Situated learning • Authentic use of tools • Meaningful problems

4. Characteristics • Overarching driving question or problem • Student-selected specific questions • Student investigations yielding artifacts • Collaboration • Summary/communication of findings

5. Role of Technology • Generally not the focus of direct instruction but an authentic tool for • Acquiring relevant information • Gathering and manipulating data • Producing and presenting a culminating presentation, often in multimedia format

6. Professional Development Needs • School-based • Focused on student learning • Embedded in teachers’ daily lives • Collaborative • Coaching and follow-up

7. Tech-Know-Build • 5-year Technology Innovation Challenge grant • Focused on development and implementation of PBL curriculum • Targeted mainly at sixth grade teachers • Incorporating portable technologies, electronic mentoring, electronic links among partners

8. Tech-Know-Build • Initial professional development activity was an on-site, semester-long course for 24 teachers • Goals were to: • Promote understanding of PBL • Facilitate development of technology skills • Support teachers’ development and use of PBL activities incorporating technology

9. PBL Initiation • 2-day modeling activity • 24 teachers • 18 students (grades 6-12) • 6 preservice teachers • Provided first-hand experience with PBL • Understand the process • Experience changing roles • Use technology as a supporting tool

10. PBL Modeling Activity • Driving question • What’s in our water, why is it there, and what does it mean to us?

11. Activities • Mixed teams brainstormed possible investigation topics related to the driving question

12. Activities • Teams planned and conducted their own investigations

13. Activities • Technology was used as a supporting tool

14. Presentations • As a culminating activity, teams produced multimedia presentations of their investigations • Example

15. Follow-up Course • Extension of on-going professional development involving school and university cooperation • Tailor-made to support integration of technology within problem-based context

16. Course Activities • PBL and other mini-activities • Spreadsheet activity about 2000 Olympics • Webquest on website evaluation • Online discussion board • Multimedia project on 20th century history • Final teacher-developed PBL unit

17. Outcomes

18. Outcomes

19. Outcomes • Responses to open-ended items indicated participants: • Liked working with others and learning to use technology • Felt they learned content, information about the community, and how to use technology • Used words like fun, interesting, exciting, and worthwhile to describe the activity

20. Teachers’ Final PBL Units • Why should we care about deforestation of the rain forest? • What makes something strong? • What good is math and science? • What makes the good life? • What is conformity? • What would it take to live off planet Earth? See unit See unit

21. Conclusions • PBL - promising approach to developing students’ problem-solving skills • Technology can play a critical role • Modeling helps teachers gain confidence and learn new approaches • Follow-up support is essential

22. Questions

23. For more information • lehman@purdue.edu • pertmer@purdue.edu • http://research.soe.purdue.edu/challenge/