Technology in the Classroom: Lessons Learned through Professional Development

Introduction In the Fall of 1999, The Bronx High School Superintendent's Office in partnership with Community School District's 7 and 9 (1), and Syracuse University began the first year of a five year Federal Technology Challenge Grant. The grant, Teaching Interdisciplinary Problem Solving through Educational Technology: Professional Development is Critical (TIPS http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.ht ml), was awarded seven million dollars to accomplish its goals. As outlined in the original grant, TIPS focuses on curriculum restructuring, in-service training, and the integration of computer applications through sustained professional development and the development of learning standards. The project seeks to implement a unique collaborative effort between two exemplary problem-solving models in addition to providing 1,000 teachers and 72,000 students access to cutting-edge technologies. (2) Furthermore, "TIPS will demonstrate that it requires a collaborative, comprehensive plan to provide curriculum restructuring to teach interdisciplinary problem solving. Also required are in-service training and sustained professional development for teachers to enable them to integrate computer applications and new technologies into their curriculum and improve learning standards in all content areas. This project brings together two exemplary programs, Syracuse University's Project LEGAL and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's Engaged Learning program. Project LEGAL's new professional development model, TIPS, will provide a vision for curriculum restructuring in combination with new technology applications that will help teachers in all content areas work toward meeting new learning standards while the Engaged Learning model will enhance the effectiveness of TIPS by providing a generic collaborative model for interdisciplinary learning and real-life problem solving. " In both Year-One (1999-2000) and Year-Two (2000-2001) of the grant, cohorts of teacher participants were selected based on their knowledge of their curriculum and a sincere interest in infusing technology into daily lesson. Further, an immediate supervisor and/or principal in the teacher's school provided a recommendation (see Table 1). The participants were not selected based upon their computer literacy so, consequently, the participants had a wide range of expertise from novice through expert. Each TIPS teacher received a laptop computer with the Windows 98 operating system and Office 2000 Suite software for use in their classrooms and homes. In addition, teachers were supported by a professional development team who provided both technical training and curriculum development workshops, onsite school visits, and online communication. Each participating school was given an LCD projector and a digital camera for exclusive use of the "TIPS" teachers to assist them in their lesson planning and presentations. Research Methodology The heart for this case study was first to concentrate on changes made in the professional development of the Year-Two cohort of TIPS teachers (2000-2001), and second to determine how those changes, including taking into account teachers' "comfort levels, "compared to the Year-One cohort of teachers. By providing more "opportunities to practice applying the principles of sound assessment, more teacher to teacher, face to face communication, as well as increased opportunities to practice computer applications onsite, the TIPS professional development staff felt that Year-Two teachers would reach a comfort level that would allow their newly acquired experiences, ideas, and strategies come alive in their own classrooms at a faster pace than Year-One teachers. This increased professional development integrated three factors: 1) Involve educators in taking responsibility for their own training and honoring their professionalism in the pursuit of excellence in the evaluation of these new practices; 2) Ensure flexibility to adjust to individual learning styles, training schedules, and paces of professional development; and, 3) Make available opportunities for collaborative learning and collegial support groups, because adults learn most effectively when sharing the lessons they have learned. …