Using a 21st Century Classroom Grant to Transform Language

Arts Classrooms

Alice A. Christie, Ph.D.Jan Wolfgramm, M.Ed.

Gililland Middle SchoolTempe, AZ

Alice A. Christie, Ph.D.Jan Wolfgramm, M.Ed.

Alice, Jan, and Gililland Teachers

Professional Development

Student Participants

District Demographics

• 24 schools serving grades K-8 • Tempe, Guadalupe, and parts of Phoenix• 71% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch• 50% of students are Hispanic• 22% of students are English Language Learners • Schools:

– 16 elementary schools (Kindergarten – 5th grade). – 4 middle schools (6th – 8th grade)– 2 traditional schools (Kindergarten – 8th grade) – 1 special education preschool– 1 alternative middle school

School Demographics

• 864 students• 208 ELL students• 76% receive free or reduced lunch• 67% receive free lunch• Ranks lowest in district of four middle schools

on numerous achievement measures

21st Century Classroom Grant• Arizona Department of Education• One-to-One Laptop Initiative

Purposes of Grant

• To revolutionize the ways middle school students engage with academics and their peers

• To motivate and challenge students• To prepare students for a knowledge economy

that values critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills

Goals of the Grant

• To transform nine language arts classrooms into technology-rich learning environments that promote:– collaborative learning– problem solving– higher order thinking skills

• To use technology tools for language arts instruction to motivate students to engage with the curriculum and each other

Goals of the Grant

• To provide students with technology unavailable to them in their homes

• To improve student ownership in learning• To engage students in dynamic and authentic

learning • To close the achievement gap that exists

between GMS students and their peers• To provide ongoing PD for teachers

Classroom Technology

• Interactive white board (SMART Board)

• Document camera• Learner response devices• iMac All-in-One workstation • Total Cost per Classroom: $4,861

• Grant: 30-34 laptops per classroom

Nine Language Arts Teachers

Participants

Initial Professional Development for Teachers

Principal’s Welcome

PD Personnel and Schedule

• Dr. Christie– One full day monthly– One-half day monthly with each grade level

• Ms. Wolfgramm– One full day monthly– One-half day monthly with each grade level– Daily support on individual and small-group basis

Survey Categories

• Attitudes Toward Technology• Teaching Style• Technology Skills• Classroom Technology Use• Level of Technology Use• Workshop Strategies• Effectiveness of Professional Development• Self Assessment

Attitudes Toward Technology

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4-point scale

Top Three

• Student motivation increases when technology is integrated into the curriculum.

• I use technology in my classroom to help support the state language arts standards.

• A variety of technologies are important for student learning.

Teaching Styles

• Still to Come

Changes in Teaching Styles

• Still to Come

Technology Skills

Identify

effecti

ve te

chnology

-based le

arning a

ctiviti

es.

Integrat

e tech

nology.

Teach

my s

tudents

using t

echnology

.

Meet th

e indivi

dual nee

ds of m

y studen

ts.

Efficie

ntly dea

l with

unexpect

ed co

mputer diffi

culties.

Troubles

hoot tech

nology pro

blems m

y studen

ts migh

t hav

e in th

e clas

sroom.

2.70

2.80

2.90

3.00

3.10

3.20

3.30

3.40

3.50

3.60

4-point scale

Technology Skills: Software

iMovie

Glogster

Microso

ft Excel

Podcasting (

Garage

Band, iP

hoto, etc.

)

Google Docs

GoogleTre

ks

Visual

Thesa

urus

BrainPop

Pixie

Word

le

Inspira

tion

Google Se

arch

Teach

er W

eb Si

te

Microso

ft Powerpoint

Microso

ft Word

Online R

esearc

h0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

5-point scale

Technology Skills: Hardware

Graphing Calcula-tors

Interactive Whiteboard (e.g.,

Promethean, Smartboard)

Digital Cameras Classroom Laptops Projection System Digital Media (e.g,. CD, DVD, VHS)

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

5-point scale

Classroom Technology Use

2.802.903.003.103.203.303.403.503.603.703.80

4-point scale

Levels of Technology Use

homework

that req

uires t

he use

of tech

nology?

studen

ts to w

ork in gr

oups on a

technology

-based ac

tivity?

use tec

hnology to

presen

t digi

tal co

ntent?

use yo

ur laptop at

home for p

rofes

sional

reaso

ns?

use yo

ur laptop at

home for p

ersonal

reaso

ns?

use tec

hnology to

model

a skil

l to la

rge gr

oup?

use tec

hnology to

do Inter

net res

earch

to prep

are fo

r clas

s?

use tec

hnology to

do Inter

net sea

rches

for pers

onal use?

assign

studen

ts to w

ork alo

ne on a

technology

-based ac

tivity?

use tec

hnology to

retri

eve a

nd use sch

ool data

?

use tec

hnology fo

r grad

ing, att

endan

ce, or m

ateria

l prep

aration?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1=Never 2=Monthly 3=Weekly 4=Twice Weekly 5=Daily

How Often Do You …

Daily Use of Hardware

Graphing C

alculat

ors

Digital

Camera

s

Computer La

b

Digital

Med

ia (e.

g,. CD, D

VD, VHS)

Interacti

ve W

hiteboard

(e.g.

, Pro

methea

n, Smart

board)

Projec

tion Syste

m

Classro

om Laptops

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

1=Less than 1 hour 2=1-2 hours 3=3-4 hours 4=5 hours 5=All day

Daily Use of Software by Teachers

1=Less than 15 min. 2=15-29 min. 3=30-45 min. 4=45-59 min. 5=1-2 hours 6=More than 2 hours

Glogster

Microso

ft Excel

Word

le

GoogleTre

ks

Podcasting (

Garage

Band, iP

hoto, etc.

)

Visual

Thesa

urus

BrainPop

iMovie

Microso

ft Powerpoint

Google Docs

Inspira

tionPixi

e

Teach

er W

eb Si

te

Google Se

arch

Online R

esearc

h

Microso

ft Word

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Use of Software by Students per Period

1=Never 2=Less than 5 min. 3=5-9 min. 4=10-14 min. 5=15-29 min. 6=30-44 min. 7=All Period

Word

le

GoogleTre

ks

iMovie

Microso

ft Excel

Glogster

Podcasting (

Garage

Band, iP

hoto, etc.

)

Teach

er W

eb Si

te

Visual

Thesa

urus

BrainPop

Google Se

arch

Online R

esearc

h

Inspira

tionPixi

e

Microso

ft Powerpoint

Google Docs

Microso

ft Word

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Use of Research Tools by Students

CD ROMs (digi

tal en

cycloped

ia)

GoogleTre

ks

Automated lib

rary s

ystem

s

Web

2.0 tools

Launch

pages

create

d by tea

chers

Web

-based data

bases

Teach

ers' w

eb sit

es

Internet

search

engin

es

Internet

web sit

es0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4-point scale

Purpose of Research

4-point scale

0.000.501.001.502.002.503.003.504.004.50

Effectiveness of Workshop Strategies

Exit ti

ckets

Lecture

Group in

vesti

gations

Indepen

dent s

tudies

One-on-one i

nstructi

on

Projec

t-base

d learn

ing

Individuali

zed m

ini-works

hops

Shari

ng of s

tudent w

ork

Collaborati

ve gr

oup work

Cooperative

learn

ing

Shari

ng of id

eas b

y parti

cipan

ts

Learn

ing-by-d

oing0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

4-point scale

Effectiveness of Instructional Elements

4-point scale

Quality

of Instr

uction

Releva

nce of M

ateria

l

Organiza

tion of Works

hops

Level

of Parti

cipati

on and Disc

ussion

Overal

l Eva

luation

Interest

of Mate

rial

3.20

3.25

3.30

3.35

3.40

3.45

3.50

3.55

3.60

Quality of Instruction

4-point scale

3.103.203.303.403.503.603.703.803.90

Quality of Workshop Activities

4-point scale

3.103.153.203.253.303.353.403.453.50

Self Assessment

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

I feel confident in my ability to …

4-point scale

Self Assessment

3.10

3.20

3.30

3.40

3.50

3.60

3.70

4-point scale

Collaborative Spirit