Projects:
Road Ahead
(Project-Based Learning)
This document is a draft of one of several reports being prepared for
The
Road Ahead, a program of the National
Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE), a
nonprofit foundation
of the National Education
Association
(NEA). The Road Ahead is funded by Bill Gates, co-founder and CEO of
Microsoft
Corporation, from proceeds from his book by the same name. The
program
involves 22 school/community partnerships in 15 states using
technology-based
learning activities that extend beyond the traditional classroom and
school
day.
This draft is subject to review and revision and was prepared by
staff of
the International Society for
Technology in
Education
(ISTE). All statements and opinions expressed are those of the
authors and
do not represent policies or positions of the NEA, NFIE, ISTE, or
Microsoft
Corporation.
Foundations for The Road Ahead:
Project-Based Learning and
Information Technologies
Most teachers give some open-ended assignments that provide students
with a
degree of choice, and that extend over a considerable period of time.
Such student
activities are examples of project-based learning. The information
technologies
increase the versatility and value of project-based learning as a
curriculum
tool. Technology can help create a rich environment for individuals
and teams
to carry out in-depth projects that draw on multimedia and information
resources
from throughout the world.
Links to major headings
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Does Cincinnati Need Another Bridge?
Students of all ages have the knowledge, skills, and interest to work
on authentic
learning tasks.
When Cincinnati proposed building a new bridge on the Ohio River,
teachers
and students at Southgate Public Elementary School in nearby Kentucky
decided
to study the situation. They began by conducting a community survey
and tabulating
the results in an electronic spreadsheet. They did background library
research
on the history of bridges and the city. Using a computer-based
geometry simulation,
they reviewed the geometry of bridges and they recreated historical
bridges
on the computer. They visited existing bridges, and used video cameras
to monitor
traffic during rush hour. Using the video record, they compiled
precise statistics
on the number and speed of people and vehicles. These figures were
used in the
creation of multimedia simulations of hypothetical new bridge
designs.
The Southgate students tested their ideas of bridge geometry by using
straws
to construct actual model bridges, and they compared the abilities of
the different
bridge models to support weight. The students then visited some of
Cincinnati's
bridges again, this time with an architect, to ask questions not
answered by
their research. Finally, they submitted a report to the city of
Cincinnati (Salisbury,
1995).
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Characteristics of Project-Based Learning
The Cincinnati bridge study mentioned above illustrates many of the
characteristics
of project-based learning activities:
Students have some choice of topic as well as the nature and extent
of content
of the project. Students can shape their project to fit their own
interests
and abilities. For instance, the Cincinnati bridge project included
activities
for music and art as well as geometry and physical science.
The teacher acts as a facilitator, designing activities and providing
resources
and advice to students as they pursue their investigations. However,
the students
collect and analyze the information, make discoveries, and report
their results.
The context for the subject matter is larger than the immediate
lesson. The
bridge across the Ohio River was a community issue being discussed in
the media.
It was an authentic concern of students' families.
Students conduct research using multiple sources of information, such
as books,
online databases, videotapes, personal interviews (in-person or
conducted via
telecommunications), and their own experiments. Even if their projects
are based
on the same topic, different students may make use of considerably
different
sources of information.
The project usually cuts across a number of disciplines. Students are
expected
to draw upon a broad range of knowledge and skills, and to "stretch"
their knowledge
and skills. The bridge project was initially a study of geometric
shapes, but
incorporated statistics, charting, social studies, physics, language
arts, and
technology.
The project extends over a significant period of time, usually from
several
class periods to an entire school year. (The Southgate students
studied the
Cincinnati bridges for six weeks.) Students plan for the effective use
of their
time and share resources such as computers, camcorders, and computer
network
access. One goal in project-based learning is for students to increase
their
skills in budgeting their time and other resources.
The project involves the design and development of a product,
presentation,
or performance that can be used or viewed by others. Students may
simply present
the results of their projects in class as reports or posters. Other
projects
may extend beyond the school boundaries in the form of broadcasts,
publications,
and public events. Students may create products of significant and
lasting value,
such as environmental assessments or permanent information displays.
The Southgate
project report was designed for the city of Cincinnati, rather than
for the
teacher.
A team of people may work on the project. The team may be an entire
class,
several classes, or even several remote sites. In these cases,
individuals or
small groups work on different components of a large task, and their
joint efforts
are often coordinated through technology. Southgate Elementary
involved its
4th, 5th, and 6th grades, which shared central computer databases for
recording
their investigations. Multi-site projects often rely on e-mail or
videoconferencing.
The instruction and facilitation is guided by a broad range of
teaching goals,
and students may achieve additional (unforeseen) goals as they explore
complex
topics from a variety of perspectives.
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Research Supporting Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning is a versatile approach to instruction that
can readily
be used in conjunction with other approaches. Teachers who make
extensive use
of project-based learning are blending a number of educational
ideas—each
supported by substantial research. This section contains very brief
summaries
of some of the areas of educational research that underlie
project-based learning.
Constructivism is a widely supported educational theory
that rests
on the idea that students create their own knowledge in the context of
their
own experiences (Fosnot, 1996). Constructivism focuses on students
being actively
engaged in "doing," rather than passively engaged in "receiving"
knowledge.
Project-based learning can be viewed as one approach to creating
learning environments
in which students construct personal knowledge.
Howard Gardner and David Perkins are the co-directors of Project Zero
at Harvard
University, a large and long-continuing project that conducts research
on ways
to improve content, pedagogy, and assessment in education. Howard
Gardner's
theory of multiple intelligences, first put forth in
1983, supports
the need for personalization of schooling (Gardner, 1995). He argues
that each
person has a number of different types of intelligence. For example,
people
have musical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, and
logical-mathematical
intelligence. Through appropriate training and experience, these
various intelligences
can be enhanced—a person can develop his or her own individual
potentials.
Gardner strongly supports the use of project-based learning as one
approach
to creating a learning environment that enhances each student's
multiple intelligences.
In his 1992 book, Smart Schools, David Perkins analyzes
a number
of different educational theories and approaches to education. His
analysis
is strongly supportive of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.
Perkins'
book contains extensive research-based evidence that education can be
considerably
improved by more explicit and appropriate teaching for transfer,
focusing on
higher-order cognitive skills, and the use of project-based
learning.
Inquiry-based learning, or discovery-based learning,
often involves
hypothesis generation and testing. The emphasis may be on discovering
specific
facts or on developing a higher-order understanding of the topic and
ideas being
explored. Students are encouraged to develop curiosity as a habit, and
to approach
all learning with a disposition toward questioning and systematic
investigation.
Research indicates that hands-on, inquiry-based instruction is
generally more
effective than traditional didactic presentation in improving problem
solving
ability in particular subject domains (Helgeson, 1992, p. 53).
Project-based
learning often makes use of inquiry-based teaching methods.
Project-based learning frequently includes teams of students engaged
in cooperative
learning and collaborative problem solving as
they work
to complete a project. Cooperative learning has been shown to be
effective in
improving academic and social skills; however, successful cooperative
learning
requires careful organization, and sometimes explicit training in
collaboration
and communication (Johnson, 1986; Johnson & Johnson, 1989).
Project-based
learning provides an authentic environment in which teachers can
facilitate
students increasing their skills in cooperative learning and
collaborative problem
solving.
One can draw a parallel between project-based learning and
process writing.
Many teachers are familiar with presenting writing as a
process, and
are aware that the steps of process writing—brainstorming,
organizing ideas,
developing a draft, obtaining feedback, revising, and
publishing—are similar
to those required in many other creative projects. In many cases,
reports or
computer-aided presentations created through process writing
constitute a project's
final product.
Additional support for project-based learning can be found in the
various "standards"
reports that have been developed by organizations such as the National
Academy
of Sciences and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Such
reports
stress the need for students being engaged in authentic and
multidisciplinary
tasks—which are hallmarks of many project-based learning
environments.
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Benefits of Project-based Learning
A search of the literature identifies thousands of articles on
classroom projects.
Most of these reports can be considered testimonials—--teachers
telling
how they make use of projects in their teaching and their perceptions
of how
successful this has been. Benefits attributed to project-based
learning include:
Increased motivation. Accounts of projects often report
that students
willingly devote extra time or effort to the project or that
previously hard-to-reach
students begin to participate in class. Teachers often report
improvements in
attendance and decreases in tardiness. Students often report that
projects are
more fun and more engaging than other components of the
curriculum.
Increased problem-solving ability. Research on improving
students'
higher-order cognitive skills emphasizes the need for students to
engage in
problem-solving tasks and the need for specific instruction on how to
attack
and solve problems (Moursund, 1995; Perkins, 1992). Many articles
describe project-based
learning environments in which students become actively and
successfully engaged
in posing and solving complex problems.
Improved library research skills. Most projects require
students
to move beyond easily available printed information sources such as
textbooks,
encyclopedias, and dictionaries. Information technologies include
excellent
additional sources of information on computer disk, CD-ROM, and the
Internet.
The project-based learning emphasis on independent research is in
keeping with
the American Library Association's (ALA) call for "information
literacy" as
a fundamental goal. The ALA defines information literacy as the
ability to know
when there is a need for information, identify and find the needed
information,
evaluate and organize the information, and use the information
effectively to
address the problem or issue at hand (Breivik & Senn, 1994).
Project-based
learning can provide an authentic and motivating context in which to
gain increased
information literacy.
Increased collaboration. The necessity for group work in
many
projects requires students to develop and practice communication
skills (Johnson
& Johnson, 1989). Peer teaching, student evaluation, online
information
sharing, and cooperative learning groups are all aspects of the
collaborative
nature of projects. Current cognitive theories suggest that learning
is a social
phenomenon and that students will learn more in a collaborative
environment
(Wiburg, 1994).
Increased resource-management skills. Part of becoming
an independent
learner is taking responsibility for completing complex tasks.
Well-implemented
project-based learning gives students instruction and practice in
organizing
projects, and in allocating time and other resources such as equipment
to complete
tasks on schedule.
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Project-Based Learning and Information Technology
Projects are commonplace in formal technology classes in which
students develop
computer programs, databases, multimedia, or other products on the way
to mastering
the equipment and software. However, information technologies also
facilitate
project-based learning in science, language arts, fine arts, social
studies,
and other curriculum areas. For example:
A class of third graders is studying the civil rights movement in the
United
States. One pair of girls uses multimedia authoring software to create
a simulated
TV newscast from Montgomery, Alabama, on the day Martin Luther King,
Jr. is
released from jail in Birmingham. In preparing the "newscast," they
study King's
speeches; develop a story board; and write, edit, rehearse, and
perform their
scripts. The authoring software allows them to include a video clip of
the actual
speech King gave that day in 1963. Other students in the same class
approach
the problem in a different manner. They use desktop publishing
software to produce
a simulated Montgomery Advertiser for December 2, 1955,
the morning
after the arrest of Rosa Parks that triggered a major bus boycott.
(Nix, 1995).
Sixth graders with learning disabilities use the KIDLINK list server
to collect
sunrise/sunset observations from around the world—almost pole to
pole—on
the day of the winter solstice. Although the students are in
Wisconsin, they
receive regular assistance from a professional meteorologist in
Maryland via
telecommunications. Students communicate with participating sites by
e-mail,
locate sites by latitude and longitude, compute daylight hours, and
create a
database of sites and daylight. Following the data collection and
analysis,
students study the implications of their findings, such as the
scientific explanation
of the seasons. They pose and seek answers to questions, such as what
are the
effects of living in constant daylight or darkness for part of the
year (SIG/Tel,
1995).
Students at several elementary and secondary Idaho schools use
CD-ROMs, video
and audio production gear, power tools, and robots to carry out a
variety of
assignments such as publishing a class newsletter and building a model
car that
can protect a raw egg in a high-speed collision. One instructional
goal is for
students to understand the importance of letting the problems dictate
the need
for a computer or other equipment. Students work together in small
teams. The
teacher is available to offer suggestions and explain how the
equipment works,
but avoids prescribing solutions (Graumann, 1993).
Nebraska high school students "shadow" adults on the job. The
students make
use of a variety of information technologies for taking notes, making
recordings,
and taking pictures. These materials are incorporated into multimedia
research
reports on careers, authored using IBM LinkWay . The
nine-week
project begins with learning interviewing techniques and with
computer-based
training in business communications (Hoffman, 1995).
A three-period course in an Oregon high school integrates the
subjects of U.S.
history, U.S. literature, and information technology. The coursework
involves
the creation of both group and individual hypermedia projects
integrating knowledge
from the three areas. In studying the Great Depression in the United
States,
teams of students work together on the topic, dividing the research
into such
areas as transportation, family life styles, clothing, music, and
food. The
students make use of a wide range of information resources and
information technology
tools. They learn from one another and help their teachers to learn.
They present
their finished products to the entire class (Smith, 1993).
As can be seen from these examples, information technologies can
affect both
the nature and content of project-based learning. In some cases,
technology
facilitates long-established techniques, as in the revision of text
with a word
processor during the writing process. In other cases, technology
extends the
scope of a project in ways that would otherwise be impossible, as when
students
gather simultaneous data from remote sites via telecommunications or
publish
their results in the form of videotape or a World Wide Web page.
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Instructional Goals and Design of Projects
The design of a learning project begins with the formulation of clear
academic
goals. Some of these will be specific to the subjects under
study—understanding
the structural strength of geometric shapes, the history of the civil
rights
movement, or the effects of mass and acceleration on moving bodies.
Another
set of goals has to do with the process of learning—the knowledge
and skill
to pursue complex tasks over a period of time, the ability to work in
a team,
or the ability to locate, retrieve, organize, and apply information
gleaned
from multiple sources.
Once the learning goals are established, teachers (or teachers and
students
working together) can begin to design and schedule activities. One
time-tested
set of project planning guidelines, developed by Al Rogers of the
FrEdMail Foundation,
comes out of educational telecommunications, where teachers have been
developing
multi-site projects for many years (Rogers, et al., 1990). Among other
characteristics,
successful projects:
- Have specific goals, tasks, and outcomes aligned with
instructional objectives.
- Have specific beginning and ending dates, and intermediate
deadlines.
- Provide examples of the kinds of writing or data collection that
students
will submit.
Teachers and students need to carefully inventory and allocate
resources—time,
prior knowledge and skills, technology, and information sources. This
is particularly
true when activities depend on sophisticated or scarce technology, or
on collaboration
with other classrooms or subject-matter experts from the community.
Note that
there may be written or unwritten rules that restrict resources. For
example,
there may be rules on how much help is allowed from parents and
others.
As the student or team begins to understand the demands of the
project and
to determine the resources that are available, the next step is to
begin to
develop a plan of action. What tasks need to be accomplished? What
resources
are needed to accomplish these tasks? Can some of the tasks be done
simultaneously,
and which tasks must be completed before others can be started? In a
large project,
it is helpful to have milestones—specific tasks to be completed
by specific
times. What are the criteria to be used to measure successfully
reaching a milestone?
Three activities, then, need to be done at the beginning of a
project: careful
specification of the project to be accomplished, including learning
goals; identification
of resources and limitations on resources; and developing a plan of
action.
These activities take place simultaneously, cyclically, and repeatedly
throughout
a project. The process of working on any one of these steps produces
information
and insights that may lead to rethinking one of the other steps.
A common pitfall for both teachers and students is to not allocate
enough resources
(especially time) to provide for unforeseen difficulties. What happens
if a
team member is ill? What happens if a particular task proves to be
more difficult
than anticipated? What happens if a needed piece of equipment is out
for repair?
A robust plan includes a "contingency fund" allocation of time and
other resources.
It may be useful for the teacher to summarize project planning in a
table of
tasks and subtasks, resources needed, timelines for undertaking each
job, and
milestones that indicate the task's completion:
Description Resources Timeline Milestones
Task 1 _________ _________ _________
Subtask 1.1 _________ _________ _________
Subtask 1.2 _________ _________ _________
Task 2, etc. _________ _________ _________
A similar table can be provided to students as a prompt and guide for
doing
their own planning.
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Feedback and Assessment
Much of conventional instruction involves students carrying out
relatively
small tasks (textbook exercises, short essays, quizzes), and then
receiving
answers, discussion, and a grade from the teacher. As noted earlier in
this
document, project-based learning often involves real-world, authentic
activities
that may be partially guided by an individual's strengths and
interests. One
result is that students involved in a project are not all learning the
same
things at the same time. This can make the teacher's task of assessing
student
progress and providing feedback more complex than it is for other
forms of instruction.
Methods of authentic assessment are well suited to the
evaluation
of such projects. Authentic assessment focuses on students'
application of their
knowledge—retrieving information from multiple sources and
integrating
it into well-reasoned arguments to support an idea; creating a work of
art or
music to enhance a presentation; designing and carrying out an
experiment to
test an hypothesis.
Authentic assessment involves a careful examination of products and
performances.
Increasingly, teachers are helping students learn to critique their
own and
one another's work. For instance, Vito Dipinto and Sandra Turner
(1995) describe
a three-part procedure in which seventh-grade students receive
instruction in
learning to evaluate their own hypermedia reports. Each student
researches a
mammal as part of the science curriculum, and presents their findings
in the
form of a HyperCard stack. The teacher first models use
of an evaluation
rubric—the things to look for in a successful project. A few
students volunteer
to have their stacks evaluated, and the class clusters around a single
machine
while the teacher critiques a stack on the extent and accuracy of its
information,
the mechanics of the writing, and the design of the presentation.
Students then
evaluate one another's work using a peer assessment feedback form.
Finally,
students write a short essay, guided by a set of questions, reflecting
on what
and how they learned during the project. The teacher's modeling, the
assessment
feedback form, and the discussion about the evaluation rubric provides
the necessary
scaffolding for students to complete their assessment tasks
successfully.
A number of states and individual school districts now make use of
portfolio
assessment, in which the output of projects and other student work
becomes part
of an individual's record. Technology has helped facilitate the
storage and
evaluation of student products. Moersch and Fisher (1995) describe a
computer
application they designed to help both the teacher and the student to
showcase
examples of student work. The software contains scoring rubrics in
which the
teacher can check off skills and levels of mastery. The multimedia
features
of the computer are used to capture digital information (text, sound,
graphics,
video) that represents student work from non-computer projects as well
as from
computer-based activities.
Assessment will be addressed in more detail in another report in this
series.
Authentic assessment is an important component of continuing search
for evaluation
methods that are valid, reliable, and fair (Baker, 1993), and that
will move
the curriculum and pedagogy in directions that improve education.
Robert Rothman's
1995 book Measuring Up discusses pros and cons of
authentic assessment,
summarizes the research literature, and gives a number of examples of
major
implementation efforts.
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Hardware and Software Considerations
Technology-dependent projects require that hardware and software be
available
and properly configured. Such projects require that both teachers and
students
have sufficient knowledge and skills to take advantage of these tools.
Time
needs to be allotted for this basic training, or activities need to be
selected
in which new technology skills can be acquired as the project
proceeds. If teachers
expect to spend part of a project teaching information technology
skills, they
may need to limit the scope of other content.
Teachers sometimes feel that they cannot make use of information
technologies
in project-based learning because their schools or classrooms lack
appropriate
modern equipment. However, many teachers have overcome such
difficulties. Telecommunications-based
projects can be built around a single computer and modem. World Wide
Web pages,
currently a popular publishing medium for the output of projects, are
constructed
from ASCII text that can be created on any word processor. Multimedia
writer
Fred D'Ignazio has pointed out that many technology tools are already
available
in schools (D'Ignazio 1995–1996). Camcorders, still cameras,
VCRs, television
sets, and tape recorders can often be borrowed or obtained as gifts.
These devices
can support multimedia project-based learning that requires no use of
computers.
Such tools are often familiar to teachers and students from home use
and may
require little initial training. Digitizing adapters and conversion
devices
such as scanners can be added later to incorporate these different
media into
computer-based multimedia for the purposes of research, editing, and
presentation.
Numerous specialized computer products can also support project-based
learning.
Multimedia authoring programs, available for most computer platforms,
allow
teachers and students to develop complex and visually attractive
computer presentations
and databases without the need for advanced programming skills. These
applications
are extremely flexible: Students can learn just a little about the
software
before undertaking projects that are both challenging and
intrinsically rewarding.
As they develop a need for more advanced features of the software,
they can
learn on their own, from fellow students, or with a modest amount of
help from
the teacher.
Electronic information-gathering tools have become more accessible in
recent
years. Searching for Internet-based information formerly required the
mastery
of arcane file transfer commands. The World Wide Web has made this
activity
technically easy in classrooms that enjoy Internet access. CD-ROM
drives, which
typically used to be housed at special workstations in the library,
are now
standard equipment on new computers. The World Wide Web and CD-ROM
technologies
allow students to find original source material from past and
present—the
latest photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope, original drafts of
the Gettysburg
Address in Lincoln's handwriting, current research reports, and T. S.
Eliot
reading his own poetry aloud. The primary challenge for teachers in
technology-based
projects is not to acquire more information, but to apply their
training and
wisdom in helping students search through, organize, and make sense of
the vast
amount of information available.
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Professional Development
Relatively few teachers are comfortable having their students work
with sophisticated
technology in multidisciplinary projects that extend beyond the
teacher's area
of expertise. They feel that they need additional professional
development to
take such a step. The lack of adequate professional development has
been described
as possibly the single greatest obstacle to teachers making use of
educational
technology (Office of Technology Assessment, 1995, p. 2). Some
examples of professional
development challenges include:
- Learning how to help students learn to function productively in a
project-based
learning environment.
- Learning more about how to find or develop good projects that fit
one's
instructional objectives and the available equipment resources.
- Learning how to provide effective feedback to students, both as
they work
on projects and at the completion of a project.
- Learning how to work with students in a "high-tech" project-based
learning
environment in which many of the students know more about the
technology than
does the teacher.
These changes require commitment from teachers and support from the
school
over a period of time. Means and Olson (1995, p. 131) found that even
after
extensive professional development, traditional didactic forms of
instruction
can remain the norm in a school, primarily because of the many and
varied demands
on staff. Breivik and Senn (1994, p. 64) reported that for many of
their correspondents,
the transition from expository to resource-based learning took from
three to
five years.
There has been a great deal of research on professional development
and its
role as a change agent in education. It is one of the major keys to
school renewal
and school improvement. A separate report in this series focuses
specifically
on professional development for information technologies in education.
Perhaps
the single most important idea is that a new paradigm is taking shape,
in which
teachers view themselves as lifelong learners.
This new paradigm has two main components. First, every teacher has
some responsibility
for learning and for helping their fellow teachers to learn. Second,
the paradigm
recognizes the important knowledge and skills that students can bring
to the
learning environment. Students can learn from each other, and students
can help
teachers to learn. In summary, the paradigm is a community of
scholars—students
and instructors both filling dual roles as teachers and learners.
Educators
will need help and encouragement to learn alongside their students
(Moursund,
et al., 1995, p. 152).
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Final Remarks
Project-based learning is a well-established component of our
educational system.
It is an excellent vehicle for helping students learn to carry out
authentic,
multidisciplinary tasks in which they budget their time, make
effective use
of limited resources, and work with other people.
Information technologies bring new opportunities and challenges to
project-based
learning. There is a rising tide of computer facilities and
connectivity in
schools. In addition, many schools and school districts are placing
considerable
emphasis on technology-oriented professional development. This
combination of
improving facilities and increasing teacher knowledge supports the
increasing
use of information technologies in project-based learning.
top
Bibliography
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for elementary and high school students. The teachers' resources
included library
CD-ROM databases, desktop personal computers, and video and audio
equipment.
Students learned to use software for word processing,
three-dimensional modeling,
and computer-aided design (CAD) presentations and slide shows.
Hands On! TERC Communications, 2067 Massachusetts Ave.,
Cambridge,
MA 02140.
TERC has developed and coordinated numerous technology-based learning
projects
over three decades. Hands On! is TERC's semiannual
newsletter of
hands-on math and science learning. It is also available online at
www.terc.edu/handson/handson.html.
Helgeson, S. L. (1992). Problem solving research in
middle/junior high
school science education. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse for
Mathematics,
Science, and Environmental Education.
An extremely detailed literature review of research on problem
solving, highlighting
both the possibilities and difficulties of improving higher-order
thinking.
Hoffman, D. (1995, March). Learning for the real world.
Technology and
Learning, 22–29.
This installment of T&L's "What Works" column looks on
career-focused projects
in six schools.
Johnson, D. W. & Johnson, R. T. (1989). Social skills for
successful group
work. Educational Leadership, 47(4),
29–33.
Johnson and Johnson are international leaders in cooperative learning.
This
article makes a case for teaching communication skills as preparation
for cooperative
learning.
Johnson, R. T. (1986). Comparison of computer-assisted cooperative,
competitive,
and individualistic learning. American Educational Research
Journal
, 23 (3), 382-392.
In this study, computer-assisted cooperative learning was superior in
terms
of promoting achievement, problem solving, interaction, and the
perceived status
of female students.
Means, B. and Olson, K. (1995). Technology's role in education
reform
. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S.
Dept.
of Education.
Summative report from a four-year study of nine schools implementing
technology-supported
constructivist classrooms.
Moersch, C. & Fisher, L. M. (1995). Electronic
portfolios—some pivotal
questions. Learning & Leading with Technology,
23(2),
10–15.
A discussion of the technical requirements and procedures for
implementing electronic
student portfolios, with particular discussion of one commercial
portfolio software
product, Electronic Portfolio.
Moursund, D. (1995). Increasing your expertise as a problem
solver: Some
roles of computers . Eugene, OR: ISTE.
An introduction to the theory and practice of getting better at
solving problems,
with special emphasis on the roles of computers. Specifically directed
toward
educators.
Moursund, D.; Bielefeldt, T.; Ricketts, R.; and Underwood, S. (1995).
Effective
pactice: computer technology in education. Eugene, OR:
ISTE.
A comprehensive summary and analysis of the research literature and
other information
on effective uses of computer technology in K–12 education.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1989). Curriculum
and evaluation
standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
The NCTM is a very large professional society. Using federal and
private foundation
grants, as well as internal resources, NCTM developed, national
standards for
content, pedagogy, and assessment in mathematics.
National Foundation for the Improvement of Education. (1995).
Touching the
future. Washington, DC: Author.
A teacher-developed guide for integrating technology into
multicultural education.
National Research Council. (1996). National science education
standards.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
This document lays out a comprehensive national approach to science
education,
with recommendations for curriculum, professional development, and
assessment.
Examples of teaching units provide reference points for the overall
theme of
promoting scientific literacy and inquiry skills.
Nix, D. (1995). Kids at the wheel—expressive learning and
multimedia.
Learning & Leading with Technology , 23(3),
16–19.
Account of an elementary social studies project in which students
researched
and recreated "news" of important events of the civil rights
struggle.
Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress. (1995).
Teachers &
technology: Making the connection (OTA-EHR-616). Washington,
DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office.
A landmark report detailing the situation, needs, and possibilities of
classroom
teachers in incorporating new technologies into education. The report
places
particular emphasis on the need for professional development.
Perkins, David. (1992). Smart schools: Better thinking and
learning for
every child. New York: The Free Press.
This book analyzes strategies that teachers use in teaching and
students use
in learning in our "conventional" educational system. It then points
out a number
of ways to make substantial improvements in these processes, by having
teachers
and students place much more emphasis on higher order cognitive
processes.
Rogers, A., Andres, Y., Jacks, M., & Clausen, T. (1990). Keys to
successful
telecomputing. The Computing Teacher, 17(8),
25–28.
A seminal article that has been used since its publication as a
standard for
planning telecommunications projects.
Rothman, R. (1995). Measuring up: Standards, assessment, and
school reform.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
An examination of assessment as a major issue in school reform and in
educational
standards. Presents a number of case studies that identify successes,
failures,
and major difficulties in making changes to our "traditional" modes of
assessment.
Salisbury, D. (1995). Does Cincinnati need another bridge?
Learning &
Leading with Technology, 23(1), 17–-19.
Description of an ambitious thematic unit in which elementary students
use geometry
simulations, videotape, and multimedia authoring tools to explore the
structure,
use, and human impact of a proposed bridge across the Ohio river.
Special Interest Group for Telecommunications (SIG/Tel). (1995). Math
pen pals:
Communication through numbers. T.I.E. News, 6(3),
6–7.
Math Pen Pals is one of a number of telecommunication projects honored
in an
annual lesson plan contest sponsored by the Telecommunications SIG of
the International
Society for Technology in Education.
Smith, I. E. (1993). HyperMedia—A review of the literature
and a
survey of student perceptions . Eugene, OR: ISTE.
An excellent overview of the research literature on hypermedia.
Examines high
school student use of hypermedia in a year-length, three-periods-a-day
course
that covered U.S. literature, U.S. history, and hypermedia. The course
makes
use of materials provided by a research project at Brown
University.
Wiburg, K. & Carter, B. (1994). Thinking with computers.
The Computing
Teacher , 22(1), 7–10.
First of a two-part "Research Windows" column discussing recent
research on
the effects of educational technology on improving problem
solving.
Prepared for the National Foundation for the Improvement of
Education
by the International Society for Technology in Education. Copyright
©1997
NFIE. Subject to review and modification. Draft prepared by Dave
Moursund, Talbot
Bielefeldt, and Siobhan Underwood. Contact: Talbot Bielefeldt,
Research Associate
(talbot@iste.org).
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