Using Computer Technology to Develop Constructivist-Oriented Classroom Environments

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9454341 Goldberg This five year national project will promote a deeper understanding of physical science among elementary school teachers and enhance the pedagogical and computer technology skills of secondary school physics and physical science teachers. This will be accomplished through a set of constructivist-oriented workshops that feature specially designed computer programs. In Phase I, year-one, computer programs for four physics topics (SERIES I): Light, Electric Circuits, Static Electricity and Magnetism will be refined. Five additional topics: Small Particle Model of Matter, Color and Vision, Heat and Temperature, Force and Particle Motion and Wave Motion (SERIES II) will be developed. These all focus on the development of "powerful ideas"; a set of which form a conceptual framework. In Phase II, Year-2, elementary school teacher workshops with SERIES I & II materials will be held. Each workshop with 5-days of intensive instruction for one topic will be grouped with others to provide a minimum of 15-days plus one day of follow-up. Concurrently, but separate from the elementary school teachers, secondary school science teachers will attend a single workshop of 12-days plus a two 2-day follow-up session. These secondary school teacher workshops will help teachers develop a set of learning strategies using the computer materials and low-tech materials to create a constructivist-oriented classroom . A total of 72-teachers will participate in these training programs. In Phase III the training of the elementary and secondary school teachers in the use of these materials will continue both at the San Diego site and sites across the nation. For the latter, 24 geographically distributed leadership teams: a university faculty member, a high school physics or physical science teacher and an elementary teacher, will participate in a six-week training program at SDSU during each of two summers. Two sessions will be held each summer, each accommodating 12-teams. After the first summer of training each leadership team will be fully supported, with monies and senior personnel guidance, to deliver their first second tier workshop of 1-week duration. During Phase IV each leadership team will provide second tier workshops which have a minimum of 3-weeks enhancement for a teacher. A minimum of 1-workshop for each of three years is required. Partial support for these is provided on a reimbursement basis. These second tier participants may earn graduate credit for these workshops.