A Picture of Change in Technology-Rich K-8 Classrooms

A Picture of Change in Technology-Rich K-8 Classrooms • Arizona State University West PT3 Project • Keith Wetzel • Ron Zambo • Ray Buss • Helen Padgett

Background • Arizona Classrooms of Tomorrow Today (AZCOTT) • Component of ASUW PT3 Project • Five school district partners • Five technology-rich K-8 classrooms • Serve as models for preservice students and university instructors

Cohort I AZCOTT Teachers

Qualitative Study Reports • The changes occurring as the AZCOTT teachers learn to teach in technology rich classrooms • The relationship between K-8 AZCOTT teachers and Teacher Education Program • Factors supporting change

Program Description • Selection of AZCOTT teachers • Teacher Education faculty participation • Preservice student placement in AZCOTT practica • District partners provided the technology; ASUW PT3 provided the training and leadership • more than 100 hours of training from the PT3 project. • TheSpring semester and summer training consisted of an initial two day workshop followed by four half days of training throughout the semester and three days in June.

The AZCOTT Training • The curriculum addressed new technologies and creating and implementing the curricular units called Units of Practice (UOP) • Participant's UOPs and the rubric can be viewed at http://azli.asu.edu • Time was also provided to share ideas and reflect on practice. Between sessions, participants communicated using an on-line conference.

Data Collection • The data for the study came from multiple sources. • Audiotapes. During the AZCOTT workshops participants shared their questions, concerns, curricular ideas, and implementation attempts. These teacher reflections and discussions were audio or videotaped and transcribed. • On-line Conference. FirstClass on-line conference that provided support as they implemented technology use in their classrooms. • External Evaluator. An external evaluator from ISTE visited AZCOTT classrooms and summarized his findings. • Classroom Video. Video vignettes taken in each classroom of the AZCOTT teacher and students.

Data Analysis • Constant comparative method (Strauss 1987), • The first and second authors independently read the transcripts and on-line conference printouts and identified patterns and categories. • Identified patterns they observed in the data and questions that arose after the readings. • The themes that emerged were: teacher change, student change, classroom change, and school change.

Changes in Teaching Methods • As teachers became involved in the training, workshop reading and sharing with peers, they questioned their approaches to teaching. For example: • "What AZCOTT is forcing me to do is to look beyond what is comfortable and ask where and if my current practices fit and if they don't what can I do to alter them so that they do fit. It is a very reflective practice that can be a little scary. I try to accept that I may not have all the answers and hope that I am flexible enough to accept any needed changes.” (March 9 Online Discussion, Ms. T Gr. 7 math)

Classroom Change • We found changes in the area of classroom management, student engagement, and levels of classroom noise. Using the actual words of teachers, student engagement and noise levels are discussed below. • “Today I was watching students working in all corners of the room. While I was helping one (group of) students edit their animal report, I looked around and everyone was busy, helping each other with typing, getting ideas synthesized into paragraphs or finishing up poems and drawings for their reports. There was plenty of activity and noise, but everyone was on task." (February 25 Online Discussion, Ms. Li Gr. 4)

Noise levels • However, with the student engagement and conversations, there was also a general unease over the amount of noise in their classrooms. For example: • ". . . I now see the value of students sharing. My classroom is noisier." (April 29 Workshop Sharing, Ms. Li Gr. 4) • “It’s a tremendous amount of conversation. The noise level is always up. I don’t have a problem with that. It bothers some of my colleagues, so I have to deal with that, and I do.” (February 26 Discussion, Ms. T Gr. 7 math) • "I feel I’m heading in the right direction. My kids are younger, so self control is hard for them. The noise level grows and the kids will argue. I’m having to get used to this. I get impatient." (April 29 Workshop Sharing, Mr.. B Gr. 2-3 looping)

Student Attitudes • AZCOTT teachers discussed attitudes students acquired that illustrate their disposition toward learning and helping others. For example: • Student collaboration.“I work with 6th graders and we all know that at that age being collaborative is not always a possibility, and liking everybody in the room is not always an option, and even sitting next to a certain person isn’t really what is expected of us. So I thought this was going to be fun having five laptop computers, which I did have in my room, with thirty students - that was going to require that they work with people. What happened initially, I got big responses “ I don’t want to work with him” or “I don’t like her”. (Ms. Lo, 6th)

Student Collaboration cont. • And suddenly they started making choices of who they wanted to work with based on skills rather then who it was they liked. It was amazing, outside on the playground there are still all those issues going . . . . This time because it was a bigger project and worth more of a grade, I suddenly heard this group saying, let’s ask him to come over here because he really knows how to use that program. They were recruiting people that they knew had the skills. That was something I totally did not expect to have come out of this. (Ms. Lo, 6th)

Discussion and Implications • Fullan (1991) describes three components to the implementation of educational change: • (a) the possible use of new or revised materials, • (b) the possible use of new teaching approaches, and • (c) the possible alteration of pedagogical beliefs. The three aspects are necessary because together they represent the means of achieving a goal.

Teaching Changes • The regular AZCOTT meetings provided • time for teachers to learn new technologies, design lessons, share ideas, and reflect on their teaching approaches. • Often the participants noted changes in their approaches to teaching that were less lecture oriented, more project oriented, more collaborative allowing students to work in small groups, and more collegial in that students became experts and worked with other students and teachers.

Student Engagement • Across the classrooms, we found positive changes in student engagement. • Teachers noted that students were excited about learning. They displayed initiative by going beyond the assignment and by asking to use computers during free-time and after school. • We also found general teacher concerns about noise levels in their classrooms or at least the beliefs that others would find the noise levels in their classrooms inappropriate.

Beginning Preservice Participation • One of the disappointments of these teachers is that more ASU West student teachers and practicum students hadn't visited and participated in their classrooms. • One unexpected outcome of the project is that AZCOTT teachers have been invited to talk to preservice students as part of their university courses or workshops and share scenes from their classrooms through videotaped vignettes.

Factors Facilitating Change • Access to technology • Adequate level of teacher training • Training over time • Teachers received credits and stipends • Curricular units -UOP • University/K-12 partnership • Win-Win ASUW and Schools benefit • Administrative support • Principals required to attend training

Resources • CD ROM video of AZCOTT teachers implementing their Units of Practice • Obtain CD email - elizabeth.warriner@asu.edu • ASUW PT3 Web Site: http://www.west.asu.edu/pt3 • Copy of this PowerPoint presentation • All project assessment instruments

A Picture of Change in Technology-Rich K-8 Classrooms