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

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

• Arizona State University West PT3 Project
• Keith Wetzel
• Ron Zambo
• Ray Buss
• Helen Padgett

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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

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Cohort I AZCOTT Teachers
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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

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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.
• The Spring 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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)
• Its a tremendous amount of conversation. The
  noise level is always up. I dont 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 Im 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. Im having to get used to this. I get
  impatient." (April 29 Workshop Sharing, Mr.. B
  Gr. 2-3 looping)

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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
  isnt 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 dont want to
  work with him or I dont like her. (Ms. Lo,
  6th)

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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, lets 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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Resources

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