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A Case for Story: Learning Technologies in K-12 Environments

A Case for Story: Learning Technologies in K-12 Environments. Points on the Qualitative Path Sharon L. Comstock Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. From Folktales to Tales of Folk. It all begins with a story….

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A Case for Story: Learning Technologies in K-12 Environments

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  1. A Case for Story: Learning Technologies in K-12 Environments Points on the Qualitative Path Sharon L. Comstock Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

  2. From Folktales to Tales of Folk • It all begins with a story…. • Research opportunity as an evaluator on a NSF project in high schools • Eureka! There are folk in them there hills… • Story as authenticating evidence that fills gaps in data gathering: where science and story meet.

  3. Research Realty: Location, Location, Location… • Graduate Fellows In K-12 Education (Funding agency: NSF) • Multiliteracies: Cybraries in K-12 Libraries (Funding: Australian Research Board) • Center for School Improvement, University of Chicago, Web Institute for Teachers (Funding:U of C, CSI)

  4. What is “GK-12?” • Nation-wide, NSF initiative • Advanced graduate students in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Technology (SMET) disciplines • SMET teachers in K-12 settings • Technology-enriched classrooms, integrating computer-based modeling, visualization, and informatics Photo by S.L. Comstock

  5. So, Who are the GK-12? • Computer scientists in pre-calculus and biology • Molecular biologist in honors biology • Biologists in advanced placement and regular biology • Mathematicians in after-hours, vocational school math classes Photo by S.L. Comstock

  6. Evaluation: A Mixed-Method • On-site observation • Structured formative online surveys (http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Divisions/eot/gk12/evaluation.html) • On-site Video and photography • Artifacts • Unstructured interviews

  7. I thought you said something about a story? • Surveys are limited tools • Unstructured interviews, coupled with site visits, seem to answer the “how” of technology integration • Story fills the gaps in formative evaluation

  8. The narrative approach: notes taken, later written, reviewed with subject The taped interview: transcribed verbatim Sample of online data this year… Storytime

  9. Interpretative Art • Case study as “bounded” object • Ethnographically informed • The holistic researcher • Resulting narrative and creating of meaning: reader as co-discoverer • Balancing paradox: participant/observer; teacher/learner; scientist/storyteller Photo by: S.L. Comstock

  10. “Tit, tat, tout…” • Reaching beyond disciplinary boundaries: “If you partition a problem along discipline lines, your solution can be wrong,” Prof. Peggy Miller. • LIS’s role in studying how technologies are being used in real-world situations • My role as a collector of stories…

  11. …this tale has yet to be played out!” • Textual analysis of data, using ATLAS software and motifs/tale types to more deeply identify patterns and significance • More in-depth interviews with widening circle of students, fellows, teachers, and administrators • Inclusion of learning in K-12 cybraries and teacher development initiatives

  12. Selected References • Ceglowski, D. That’s a good story, but is it really research? Qualitative Inquiry; Thousand Oakes; June 1997; Vol. 3, Issue 2, pp 188-201 • Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. • Glesne, C. & Peshkin, A. (1992). Being there: Developing understanding through participant observation. Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction. White Plains, NY: Longman, 39-61. • Mixed Methods Handbook for Evaluations (1997). Frechtling, J. & L. S. Westat, eds. Division of Research and Evaluation, NSF. Washington, D.C. (http://www.her.nsf.gov/HER/REC/pubs/NSF97-153/START.htm.)

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