it was hoped that it would increase their level of involvement in the training they received.
Additionally, research had also shown that there was a higher level of transfer in professional development initiatives when on-going support is provided to the teacher following the initial training – either by their colleagues or an outside support person (Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon & Birman, 2002; DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour, 2005; Heck, Banilower, Weiss & Rosenberg, 2008). Significant time was allowed during the professional development sessions for the teachers to showcase ways they had been using the device and different apps they had found, and also to simply interact with each other surrounding their use of the tool. This time, which generally comprises of approximately half of each of the four follow-up sessions that were held, allowed for these teachers to develop a learning community around their support of each other using this new device. Cross (1998) believed that a learning community was intended to foster “active learning over passive learning, cooperation over competition, and community over isolation” (p. 5); and in this instance as these science teachers were always physically present with each other at the school they had many more interactions surround their use of the iPad that could be quantified during the five sessions that I held with them.
EARLY FINDINGS FROM THE DATA
As a part of the project, I audio recorded each of the professional development sessions. I also conducted interviews with each of the teachers who participated, and there was one teacher who implemented a lesson plan that made use of mobile devices that I observed and videotaped. An initial analysis of this data indicated that the teachers all felt that the tool could have powerful uses in the classroom, but all felt extremely limited by the fact that they only had one iPad per teacher (as opposed to one device per student). Interestingly, the teachers used the device more as a personal and professional development tool, than as a resource during their teaching that they could use with their students.
The one teacher who completed a lesson that incorporated mobile devices into his classroom collected devices from a number of his colleagues and also encouraged the students to bring along their own devices and gave them a list of free apps to download beforehand. He began by having students complete a pre-test using the multiple-choice question function in Mobl21 (a mobile learning management system). He then provided some direct instruction by displaying a 99¢ app on the iPad using the classroom document camera, followed by the students exploring the topic using two different apps from the devices he had borrowed or their own. He finished the class by having the students complete the same multiple-choice quiz
MACULJOURNAL |
as a post-test. While all of the teachers saw the potential of the device (such as how it was used by this specific teacher), in a very pragmatic way they also felt that the expense of these devices was a luxury that schools simply couldn’t afford – particularly when you consider that you can purchase two netbooks for the cost of one iPad.
I plan to further analyze this data and submit a follow-up article to the MACUL Journal that outlines the full results of the research study conducted as a part of this MACUL Grant.
References
Cross, K. P. (1998). Why learning communities? Why now? About Campus, 3(3), 4-11.
Desimone, L. M., Porter, A. C., Garet, M. S., Yoon, K. S., & Birman, B. F. (2002). Effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction: Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24, 81-112.
DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & DuFour, R., (Eds.). (2005). On common ground: the power of professional learning communities. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Heck, D. J., Banilower, E. R., Weiss, I. R., & Rosenberg, S. L. (2008). Studying the effects of professional development: The case of the NSF’s local systemic change through teacher enhancement initiative. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(2), 113-152.
Loucks-Horsley, S., Love, N., Stiles, K. E., Mundry, S. & Hewson, P. W (2009). Designing professional development for teachers of science and mathematics (3rd
ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Siko, J. P. (2011, November). Students’ utilization and perceptions of netbooks in the classroom. A paper presentation at the annual convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Jacksonville, FL.
SMART Technologies Inc. (2004). Interactive whiteboards and learning: A review of classroom case studies and research literature.
Calgary, AB: Author.
Michael K. Barbour is an Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology and Coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching at Wayne State University. His research focuses upon the use of online learning in the K-12 environment, along with the use of mobile learning by K-12 online learning programs. He can be reached at
mkbarbour@gmail.com
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