Technology Integration Enhancing Science: Things Take Time

Science Educator, Spring 2005 by Shane, Patricia M, Wojnowski, Brenda S

A process is outlined in which a professional development program allows K-8 teachers to make the transition from a traditional classroom to one where technology is imbedded and becomes an integral part of teaching and learning.

Project TIES (Technology Integration Enhancing Science), a four-year Technology Literacy K-8 project, combines technology as a tool for teaching and learning with earth and environmental science education. The project provides K-8 teachers in two school systems in the Central Piedmont area of North Carolina with professional development as well as equipment and materials. The resources enabled teachers to make the transition from a traditional classroom to one where technology is an imbedded and integral part of teaching and learning. During this process, TIES teachers participated in professional development involving science content, the inquiry process, student-centered projects, and the use of technology as a tool for teaching and learning. TIES teachers have taken on leadership roles including presentations at state science teachers and educational technology conferences and provision of professional development within their school systems. The project is being sustained because the expertise and leadership resides within the schools.

Project TIES began as a serendipitous juxtaposition of three seemingly unrelated events. First was the publication of the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996). Next was the announcement of a request for proposals by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. This was followed by the hiring of a building-level technology specialist and science specialist in one school and a technology director in another school system. These individuals approached a university collaborator and asked her to become the project director. Subsequently, an external evaluator was recruited from another university. Thus began a four-year saga of change and innovation.

Things Take Time

"It is clear that, for science and mathematics professional development to be effective, experiences for teachers must occur over time, provide ample time for in-depth investigations and reflection, and incorporate opportunities for continuous learning. [T]he idea of building new understandings through active engagement in a variety of experiences over time, and doing so with others in supportive learning environments, is critical for effective professional development" (Loucks-Horsley, Love, Stiles, Mundry, and Hewson, 2003, p. 81-82).

Although the project was nearing completion as this caveat was published, Project TIES was designed with the precept of providing ten days of professional development over the course of the school year; TIES allowed teachers the time to assimilate new pedagogies and implement them in their classrooms. Change is not easy; for pedagogical change to occur, teachers must be afforded the opportunity to learn new teaching methodologies, incorporate those methodologies into their classroom practices, modify any practices that do not work for them, and retest the modifications.

For this particular technology-based project, it is accurate to add the admonition that "Things Take Materials." The intention was to provide sufficient resources for teachers to make the transition from traditional practice to a classroom where science and technology are imbedded and become integral parts of teaching and learning. The availability of the equipment and software in sufficient quantity for easy student access, as well as the knowhow for using it, permitted students and teachers to use technology on a regular and frequent basis to allow for integrated, project-based instruction. The combination of new knowledge and behaviors as a result of professional development, combined with the needed equipment, helped to provide profound and lasting change.

Project Description

The overarching goal of the TIES Project was to produce a successful, creative, and replicable model for inquiry- and project-based instruction that uses technology to integrate science and other curricula. To attain this, teachers developed long-term inquiry-based science projects appropriate for their K-8 students. Underlying these projects, as well as other classroom instruction, was the seamless blending of technology with science content and project-based instruction. The ensuing professional development not only incorporated project-designed activities, but also a wide array of nationally recognized curriculum materials and activities including The GLOBE Program, Project WET, Streamwatch, GEMS, and AIMS. These programmatic components were phased into the implementation over the project's first three years, with full implementation achieved in Year 4.

Another goal was the sustainability of this project. This priority was attained by way of five strategies. First, TIES implemented a process of collaborative team efforts utilizing the leadership of experienced TIES teachers. Year-1 and Year-2 teachers became mentors for teachers who entered the project in Years 3 and 4. This allowed experienced teachers time to gain confidence with the pedagogical changes in their classrooms before they were responsible for working with new teachers. second, experienced teachers assumed leadership roles as they participated in providing professional development sessions in Years 3 and 4. Third, the equipment, including, computers, software, probeware, and a digital camera, was housed in teachers' classrooms. In this way, technology was available immediately for use as an integral part of the teachers' repertoire of teaching tools. Fourth, teams of TIES teachers disseminated knowledge gained and lessons learned from the project as they presented TIES at science and technology conferences and at parent and faculty meetings. Finally, participating schools have now included TIES in their school-based budgets, thereby ensuring continuation of the project.