Introduction
Currently there is an educational reform movement sweeping the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The goal of this reform movement is to better
prepare youth for employment through education. One way of achieving this goal
is by improving the problem solving, critical thinking and technology skills
of students. As part of achieving this goal, computer and Internet technology
is being provided to the schools through USAID’s E-Schools/Connects project.
Technology, appropriately integrated into curriculum can be used as a tool to
develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. Currently, technology is
not addressed in the primary grades (K-4) and is only taught as a separate skills
subject with little connection to other school subjects. Therefore, teachers
in the schools do not have experience in or knowledge of technology integration
into curriculum in order to help students develop the necessary skills. As the
educational reform within the country progresses, occasional in-service training
for teachers to understand this process is available but little is done to prepare
future teachers at the three teacher training institutes, known as Pedagogical
Faculties, located in the cities of Skopje, Stip, and Bitola.
Project Description
In order to prepare future Macedonian teachers in the integration of
technology, faculty at the three teacher training institutes must first
learn how to educate
teachers about technology integration. This project involves a series of on-site
workshops to increase teacher awareness of new technology tools, to educate those
responsible for teaching K-4 grade pre-service teachers in the practice of using
technology as an effective tool across the curriculum, and finally to provide
instruction and support to the Pedagogical Faculties as they reform their course
syllabi to reflect technology integration practices.
The workshops are designed to:
1. Identify ways in which available software tools can be used to enhance
the
learning of K-4 students.
2. Demonstrate technological skills necessary for teaching others to use these
tools as well as to design and create learning environments that use these tools.
3. Integrate the use of these tools to support the faculty’s own practice
with pre-service teachers.
4. Communicate to pre-service teachers the importance of these tools for K-4
learners as well as to insure the pre-service teachers are able to integrate
these tools into K-4 classrooms.
5. Explore ways to restructure the current Informatics course at the Pedagogical
Faculties as well as syllabi for pre-service teacher courses to reflect technology
integration practices throughout the pre-service teaching curricula.
6. Plan and take leadership roles in communicating to colleagues and the wider
community the needs, strategies, and resources necessary to advance the role
of technology to support K-4 learners.
There will be 2 two-week workshops (summer camp and winter camp). In
the first workshop, focus will be on awareness of a variety of software
tools and the ways
in which these tools can be used to support standards for K-4 learners as well
as pre-service teachers. This workshop is designed to take a ‘gentle’ first
approach to technology, emphasizing skill development and the ways in which technology-enhanced
learning can be seamlessly integrated with existing practice in both K-4 classrooms
and in pre-service education. Each topic within the workshop will include opportunities
for learners to use the tools to support their respective practices. At the end
of the first workshop, the learners will design two lessons that integrate technology.
One lesson is designed for a K-4 environment. The second lesson is designed to
be used with pre-service teachers. Primary emphasis for this workshop will be
placed on understanding standards for K-4 learners.
The second workshop will build on skills and understandings gained in
the first workshop as well as projects and experiences gained during
the intervening four
months. This workshop will focus on more holistic and integrative uses of technology
to promote K-4 and pre-service education. Additionally, this workshop will focus
on redesigning of the required Informatics course for pre-service teachers and
on leadership strategies and workshop design extending beyond this project to
larger impacts at participants’ own institutions.
All participants must have an intermediate level, working knowledge of
written and spoken English. No translation will be provided during
the workshops.
The Audience
The audience in the two session workshops is faculty from Pedagogical
Faculty-Skopje, Pedagogical Faculty-Stip, and Pedagogical Faculty-Bitola.
Approximately 20 participants
will be nominated by the Pedagogical Faculties in Macedonia to attend the both
workshops. Ten participants chosen by the Pedagogical Faculties will be the audience
of the Online Certificate program course.
The Stakeholders
Pre-service teachers, K-4 teachers, K-4 students are the Macedonian stakeholders
in this project. The Minister of Education and Science in Macedonia has an interest
in the project as well. Other stakeholders include USAID, the funding provider
for the E-schools/Connects project, three George Mason instructors, who will
prepare the content as well as design research methods and plans to study the
project, The Academy for Educational Development (AED), which implements the
E-schools/Connects project for USAID, World Learning, contracted by USAID to
handle hotel accommodations, meals, transportation, workshop facility arrangements
during the workshop sessions, the Open Society Institute, contracted by USAID
to set up the computers at the workshop site, and the East Central European Scholarship
Program (ECESP) at Georgetown University’s Center for Intercultural Education
and Development, which acts as the project manager and liaison between George
Mason University instructors and USAID administrators.
Benefits
One of the benefits of this program is to institute best practices for
the use of technology resources that are being established throughout
the country. Currently,
no standards for technology use are in effect. In order to provide a model for
technology integration, this project will be based on the National Educational
Technology Standards (NETS) as developed and supported by the International Society
for Technology in Education (ISTE). Workshop participants will also learn ways
to redesign the current Informatics course, the technology skills course offered
to pre-service teachers at their respective Pedagogical Faculty and to incorporate
technology throughout the pre-service teaching curriculum rather than a separate
course on using technology in the classroom. Therefore, the faculty responsible
for teachers specializing in math content can redesign their courses to include
the role of technology integration into primary grade math curriculum. Pre-service
teachers with knowledge of technology integration will be more competitive in
the teacher job market. In addition, the George Mason University researchers
will be able to study the process and add to the growing body of knowledge on
technology integration education for pre-service teachers and the impacts of
providing this type of education to teachers in countries under reform movements.
Project Justification
In no other time in history has knowledge and information become so important
(Toffler, 1980). Job markets today require individuals to be problem solvers
and good users of information. Globalization has allowed for the spread of this
notion across the world and has provided opportunities for countries to learn
from each other. Newly formed nations are striving to reform their governments
in order to compete in the globalized economy. These new nations are facing reforms
on many levels, including education. Consistent evidence indicates that education
investment is positively linked to economical growth and social development (Vila,
2005). However, in this digital age, education reform must include attention
to technology; failure to do so may hinder a country’s ability to compete
in the global economy.
As indicated by Zaharias and Poulymenakou (2003, p.50), “the development
and deployment of innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
applications and services is becoming the key factor for growth and employment
in all parts of Europe.” The leaders within the Macedonia educational system
have identified several areas of need in order to reform education in the country.
In the past, technology was viewed merely as a skill achieved through ‘informatics’ courses
taught in their secondary education programs. Recognizing the need that technology
can play a role as tool to enhance problem solving skills and critical thinking
skills within content areas, Macedonia has made a commitment to providing technology
resources in both secondary and primary schools as well as supporting the need
to educate teachers in how to use these resources with students to enhance learning.
Since 1999, the United States Department of Education's has been providing
grant money to colleges and education agencies with the goal of changing
the way teachers
are educated in the practice of technology integration. The Preparing Tomorrow's
Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant program has also provided an opportunity
for researchers to investigate and document how teachers integrate technology
into their curricula. For the past eight years, the Integration of Technology
in Schools Masters program, offered through the Graduate School of Education
at George Mason University, has successfully provided these kinds of experiences
for teachers. Adopting methods used by exemplary programs provides strong frameworks
for others who are planning to reform teacher education programs (Wetzel & Williams,
2004). The proposed project, Promoting Technology Integration in Macedonia, provides
a model of technology integration in pre-service teaching curriculum, and an
opportunity for Higher Education faculties in Macedonia to reform their present
curriculum to include technology integration strategies and models for their
future teachers. The project can also inform the literature on these relationships
in which faculties of diverse environments come together to share and create
standards for the improvement of Higher Education.
Research indicates that faculty who is responsible for educating pre-service
teachers must be provided with opportunities to explore the uses of technology
within their own classroom practice before they can be asked to model good technology
integration practices (Pope, Hare, & Howard, 2002). The Promoting Technology
Integration in Macedonia project activities will allow the faculty at the Pedagogical
Faculties to participate in and design technology integrated lessons geared towards
pre-service teachers specializing in K-4 environments. This type of workshop
education can also build confidence and motivation in the participants (Tan,
Hu, Wong, & Wettasinghe, 2003), providing a positive experience and an embracement
of technology use in their own practice. As a result pre-service teachers have
good models of technology use and are able to practice and apply their knowledge
to the environments in which they will be teaching. Through the use of activities
and ideas already successfully implemented in classrooms in the United States
and throughout the world as reported by Tan, et al., the workshops proposed will
provide robust opportunities for faculty to be good models of technology integration
through curriculum design and to promote technology as a tool to enhance student
learning.
Presently in Macedonia, technology is introduced at the secondary school
level with an emphasis on skill development and is used in traditional
teacher-centered
activities. Teacher-centered instruction develops consumers of technology rather
than contributors to the growing body of digital content, which is needed in
countries striving for economic growth (Rodrigo, 2005). In addition, technology
skill development does not promote critical thinking skills. Technology can best
support problem solving and critical thinking skills when students use it to
access information, model problems and make decisions (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra,
2002). By designing learning opportunities that encompass these activities, educators
can better prepare students for the digital world. However, the use of technology
should be incorporated much earlier than secondary school to allow for a larger
population of students to learn with technology. Creating a technology literate
population at the early grade levels allows students more practice with technology
skills throughout their school years (Grace & Kenny, 2003). By integrating
technology into the primary school curriculum more students can have access to
technology resources. For these reasons, the need to build technology integration
knowledge among primary school educators is important to the country of Macedonia
in achieving its goal of preparing both teachers for new classroom innovations
and youth for future employment in this digital world.
The Objectives
First Workshop
Upon completion of the first two-week technology-based workshop, in accordance
with the International Society for Technology Education’s (ISTE) National
Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Students (NETS-s) and Teachers (NETS-t),
and opportunities to apply knowledge through technology integrated activities,
the participants will be able to :
1. Use a word processor, know how a word processor can be used to support
K-4 learning, and design at least one word processing environment for
use by K-4
learners.
2. Use a word processor as a desktop publisher, know how a desktop publishing
can be used to support K-4 learning, and design at least one desktop publishing
environment for use by K-4 learners and one desktop publishing environment for
pre-service teachers.
3. Use two computer graphics programs, know how computer graphics programs can
be used to support K-4 learning, and design at least one computer graphics lesson
for use by K-4 learners.
4. Use PowerPoint, know how PowerPoint can be used to support K-4 learning, and
design at least one PowerPoint environment for use by K-4 learners.
5. Use the Internet and a web publisher, know how the Internet and a web publisher
can be used to support K-4 learning, design at least one web-based learning environment
for use by K-4 learners.
6. Use a spreadsheet, know how spreadsheets can be used to support K-4 learning
and design at least one spreadsheet environment for use with pre-service teachers.
7. Apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation
strategies.
8. Create and include at least one technology-enhanced lesson on their syllabus
for pre-service teachers.
9. Create and include at least one technology-enhance lesson as part of the field
experiences of pre-service teachers.
Second Workshop
Upon completion of the second workshop, the participants will be to apply
knowledge through the following activities in accordance with the NETS
for teachers:
1. Understand the uses and designs of problem-solving learning environments.
2. View examples and design a problem-solving, technology-based learning
environment.
3. Participate in modeled thematic and problem-centered curricular units
with
technology integration.
4. Design at least one thematic or problem-centered unit to be used as a model
in pre-service practice.
5. Work toward the redesign of the Informatics course required for pre-service
teachers.
6. Create plans and workshops for their home institutions that advance the use
of technology as a learning strategy for K-4 learners and pre-service teachers.
The NETS for students and teachers can be found in Appendix A.
Implementation Plan
Workshop 1 will take place in the last two weeks of August, before the
start of university classes in Macedonia. Participants and the three
instructors from
George Mason University will meet daily, Monday through Friday during the workshop
period. Each day will be divided into three sessions. In the three hour morning
sessions, an introduction will be presented with objectives stated. Lessons and
activities which model the appropriate technology integration for each of the
tools will be presented to the participants. In the three hour afternoon schedule,
participants will create their own products, using the knowledge and skills they
have learned in the morning session. A two hour evening session will give participants
and instructors the opportunity to have conversations and to reflect on previous
sessions in addition to allowing participants the opportunity to work on their
professional portfolios. The detailed schedule for Workshop 1 is found in Appendix
B as well as an overall timeline for the project.
At the end of the first workshop, participants will have designed a technology
integrated lesson to be used with K-4 students as well as a technology integrated
lesson to be used as a model for pre-service teachers. These projects will be
implemented in the appropriate environments during the fall semester. Through
email exchanges, the instructors and the participants will maintain conversations
about the implementation process within the primary schools as well as with the
pre-service teachers at the Pedagogical Faculties.
During the fall school session, participants will implement their designs
with their students as well as in a K-4 environment. Through email
exchanges, participants
will receive support from the GMU instructors. Conversations during the fall
semester will determine the exact nature of the second workshop. While keeping
with the objectives for Workshop 2, the exact activities designed to meet those
objectives will be determined by the instructors based on the challenges and
success of the lesson implementations in the fall.
Workshop 2 will be designed in the same manner as Workshop 1 in terms
of time frame, session lengths, and structure. The culminating activity
for Workshop
2 is a redesign of the required Informatics course at the Pedagogical Faculties.
Rather than a course to teach technology skills to pre-service teachers, the
Informatics course will be redesigned to educate pre-service teachers in technology
integration in the elementary education environment.
Assumptions and Limitations
An assumption in this proposal is that all participants are proficient
in the English language and are able to use computer software programs
that use English
commands. Also, it is assumed that all participants are directly responsible
for designing and teaching curriculum to pre-service K-4 teachers and have some
basic technology skills knowledge. It is expected that access to the Internet
is consistent during the workshops and that all participants can be reached through
email. It is assumed that all pre and post workshop travel and accommodations
for the GMU instructors will be the responsibility of ECESP, including costs
and arrangements. All travel and accommodations for the instructors and participants
will be arranged by World Learning, as contracted by USAID. Facility arrangements
will also be made by World Learning and will include access to a computer laboratory
with Internet access. All costs for accommodations and travel during the workshop
will be incurred by USAID.
Challenges for the project include possible language barriers, technology
glitches, such as non-working hardware, and the need to review many
technology skill concepts
to accommodate low skill levels.
Resources Required
The resources required for both workshops include a computer laboratory
equipped with a minimum of 24 desktop computers, installed with Microsoft
Office Suite:
Word, PowerPoint, Paint, and Excel, CD-ROM drives, USB connections, a network
printer, consistent Internet access, and a presentation projector. A separate
classroom for presentations and discussions would be a convenience but not required.
Project Personnel
The instructor team for the Promoting Technology Integration in Macedonia
project will consist of three faculty members from the College of Education
and Human
Development, Graduate School of Education at George Mason University. The team
includes Dr. Priscilla Norton, Professor and Principal Investigator, Dr. William
Warrick, Assistant Professor, and Ms. Dawn Hathaway, Instructor. The team specializes
in educating K-12 teachers in the principles of technology integration and curriculum
development and currently teaches instructional technology courses. The team
will collaborate to produce materials and plan instruction for the workshops.
Each team member will be responsible for instruction as noted on the Workshop
1 Implementation chart (See Appendix B).
Evaluation
The evaluation of the Teacher Education Workshop in Macedonia will consist
of both formative and summative evaluations. The formative evaluation
will focus
on the two week implementation of Workshop 1, specifically the method of instruction
and the course materials used. The goal of the formative evaluation is to determine
the effectiveness of using instructional technology integration education strategies,
which are designed for use with teacher educators and practicing teachers in
the United States, as strategies for teacher education in Macedonia. This evaluation
will be used to improve the design of the program, to prepare material for Workshop
2, and to inform future projects of the same type.
Formative Evaluation
The formative evaluations will consist of informal daily discussion and
portfolio reflections. Because the instructors and the workshop participants
will be taking
meals together, as well as being housed in the same accommodations, the instructors
will have the opportunity to have conversations about workshop topics and making
connections to practice. Each instructor will maintain a journal to document
highlights of these conversations. In the evening sessions of the first workshop,
discussions about the information and activities presented in the earlier sessions
will take place.
Guiding Questions
Guiding questions will be used to lead daily discussions. The questions
will
be as follows:
1. How effective are the course materials and teaching strategies used in the
first workshop?
2. Are the workshop participants able to make connections to their practice?
3. Are the participants thinking of additional ideas about using technology in
their practice?
4. How are the participants using what they’ve learned in the daily session?
5. How do the participants view the integration of technology into their practice
and in K-4 environments?
Due to possible language barriers, daily portfolio reflections will also be used
to understand the participant’s view of the daily session.
Analysis of Formative Evaluation Data
The data gathered through notes and journals of daily discussions will
be analyzed using qualitative data analysis methods. The data will
be transcribed then explored
to gain a general sense of what is presented in the data. To reduce the data,
the transcripts will be coded by segmenting and labeling the text to form descriptions.
This inductive process will continue as the text segments are categorized then
grouped into themes.
The portfolio reflections will be analyzed using a rubric designed
by the instructors. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be
used to analyze the quantitative
data that will be generated and the results will be reported to ECESP and
USAID.
Summative Evaluation
The summative evaluation will consist of a survey given to all participants
at the conclusion of each Workshop session. In addition, the final portfolio
as
well as the lesson plans designed by each participant will be collected
as data to determine the overall effectiveness of the information given
and
the activities
completed in terms of integrating technology into their practice and K-4
learning environments. This evaluation will also be used to inform future
workshop endeavors.
Data from the summative evaluation will be primarily quantitative.
This quantitative data collected will be analyzed using descriptive
and inferential
statistics
and the results will be reported as a research paper for presentation
at various educational technology society conferences.
Budget
The budget ( See Appendix C) defines the expenses for the design and
implementation of two workshops with the assumption that all travel
expenses to and from
Macedonia, as well as pre and post workshop accommodations are provided
for the instructors
by the East Central European Scholarship Program (ECESP), and that
all travel, accommodations, workshop facilities, Internet access, computers
installed
with Microsoft Office Suite software, printer, computer paper, and
presentation
projector will be provided for the instructors and participants by
USAID. The
budget for
the design and implementation phases consists of the salary for each
instructor, charged at their respective daily university rates. For
the design phase,
5 days per workshop with a total of 10 days charged per instructor.
The implementation phase consists of 10 days per workshop, with a total
of
20 days charged per
instructor.
The instructor team will provide the teaching materials to be used
in all workshop
presentations and will provide the teaching materials for each participant.
The budget therefore will include costs for producing teaching materials
such as
handouts and examples, including photocopying and supplies such as
index cards and an art kit. Teaching material will also be provided
in CD-ROMs
and given
to each participant.
References
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