Developing University-School Partnership in Multidisciplinary Technology Integration

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Developing University-School Partnership in
Multidisciplinary Technology Integration

• Sergei Abramovich
• Rick Tomlinson
• Glenn Mott
• Stacy Rush
• Valarie Simmons
• SUNY Potsdam and Banford Elementary School -
  Canton

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Overview

• Theoretical background
• Description of the project
• Multidisciplinary activities
• Conclusions

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Theoretical background

• Assessment by NCATE Task Force on Technology and
  Teacher Education (1997)
• Pre-service teachers rarely have an occasion for
  applying technology in their courses and are not
  engaged in role models of faculty teaching with
  technology
• This finding applies to all content areas,
  including mathematics, science, and social studies

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Context

• It has been suggested by several authors that
  teacher education programs should provide
  learning experiences for pre-teachers in using a
  computer as an exploratory tool in both
  theoretical and applied contexts with a focus on
  learning with technology, not about technology
  (Shaw, 1997) during all stages of their education
  including regular coursework and student teaching.

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Context

• As Browning and Klespis (2000) have pointed out,
  pre-teachers should be given authentic
  experiences in developing technology-enabled
  activities for a pre-college classroom.
• Willis (2001) has extended this recommendation by
  arguing that pre-teachers should be given
  opportunities for professional growth including
  teaching their own technology-enhanced lessons.

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Three approaches to technology-enhanced
mathematics pedagogy for elementary pre-teachers
(SUNY Potsdam)

• Introduce pre-teachers to the pedagogy through a
  computer-enhanced mathematics methods course
• Offer a course that focuses on the design of
  technology-enabled lessons of mathematics
• Introduce technology into a mathematics teacher
  preparation program that is grounded in
  pre-teachers participation in a methods course
  with a student teaching (field experience)
  component.

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These three approaches parallel Garofalos (2000)
notion of the primary user of technology

• Teacher educator as the primary user
• Pre-teachers are being prepared to be the primary
  users
• Pre-teachers are being prepared to have their
  students to be primary users

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Participants

• Pre-service elementary teachers in a graduate
  program (SUNY Potsdam)
• Third-grade students (Banford Elementary School)
• University faculty
• School faculty

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Goals of collaboration

• Develop set of multidisciplinary activities for
  younger children that integrate off- and
  on-computer activities, including the Internet
  and spreadsheets
• Use spreadsheet as an exploratory tool
• Using computers in elementary teacher education
  in the strongest sense

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Goals of Collaboration

• Affecting elementary pre-teachers beliefs about
  technology
• Helping the school to integrate computers into
  curriculum

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Classroom environment
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Classroom environment
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Classroom environment
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Classroom environment
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Classroom environment
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Classroom environment
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Classroom environment
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Multidisciplinary activity Temperature project

• Use of the Internet to collect data
• Use of spreadsheets to represent data
• Use of spreadsheets to analyze data
• Use of spreadsheets to put mathematics in the
  context of temperature patterns
• Use of sequential building of task complexity

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Students response
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Conclusions

• Authors believe that the project
• enabled the pre-teachers to act as agents of
  change in the PDS environment
• helped them to develop a disposition towards the
  fieldwork classroom as a site for inquiry

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References

• Browning, C.A., and Klespis, M.L., (2000). A
  reaction to Garofalo, Drier, Harper, Timmerman,
  and Shockey. Contemporary Issues in Technology
  and Teacher Education Online serial, 1 (2).
  (http//www.citejournal.org/)
• Garofalo, J., Drier, H., Harper, S., Timmerman,
  M.A., and Shockey, T. (2000). Promoting
  appropriate uses of technology in mathematics
  teaching. Contemporary Issues in Technology and
  Teacher Education Online serial, 1 (1).
  (http//www.citejournal.org/).
• National Council for Accreditation of Teacher
  Education. (1997). Technology and the new
  professional teacher Preparing for the 21st
  century classroom. Washington, DC Author.

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References

• Shaw, D. E. (1997). Report to the President on
  the use of technology to strengthen K-12
  education in the United States. Washington, DC
  Presidents Committee of Advisors on Science and
  Technology, Panel on Educational Technology.
• Valli, L., Cooper, D., and Frankes, L. (1997).
  Professional Development schools and equity a
  critical analysis of rhetoric and research. In M.
  W. Apple (ed.), Review of research in education,
  pp. 251-304. Washington, DC AERA.
• Willis, J. (2001). Foundational assumptions for
  information technology and teacher education.
  Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher
  Education, Online serial, 1(3),
  (http//www.citejournal.org/).