The Scenario
“Your school has just been notified that you have $150,000 to spend on creating a classroom of tomorrow in which teachers in your school will rotate through this space so that everyone has the opportunity to experience teaching in this environment. You are the lead educator responsible for creating the "blueprint" of what this classroom would look like and how you would spend the money. The money may be used for equipment, professional development, furniture -- anything that you believe will make this the best learning environment for your students. Your learning space has to reflect both high and low end technological resources, keeping in mind that the teachers who rotate through this space will need to be able to replicate some of what they do in this learning space into their own classroom.”
“Your school has just been notified that you have $150,000 to spend on creating a classroom of tomorrow in which teachers in your school will rotate through this space so that everyone has the opportunity to experience teaching in this environment. You are the lead educator responsible for creating the "blueprint" of what this classroom would look like and how you would spend the money. The money may be used for equipment, professional development, furniture -- anything that you believe will make this the best learning environment for your students. Your learning space has to reflect both high and low end technological resources, keeping in mind that the teachers who rotate through this space will need to be able to replicate some of what they do in this learning space into their own classroom.”
The Instructional Challenge
"Your instructional challenge is to draft a plan in which you describe what this environment will look like, how you would spend the money, and how you will create a space that includes both high and low end technological solutions, keeping in mind that this classroom will be a model for other learning spaces in which the school may not have the money or resources to go completely high end. Your solution must have a research foundation, must include models of practice, and must demonstrate how these models could be modified for use in your own learning environment.”
"Your instructional challenge is to draft a plan in which you describe what this environment will look like, how you would spend the money, and how you will create a space that includes both high and low end technological solutions, keeping in mind that this classroom will be a model for other learning spaces in which the school may not have the money or resources to go completely high end. Your solution must have a research foundation, must include models of practice, and must demonstrate how these models could be modified for use in your own learning environment.”
The Solutions
I think that there are a few ways to approach this instructional challenge. The first approach I’ll describe is where I create one awesome classroom with an amazing learning environment as described in “The Scenario.” In this method, there is one classroom that is a model for all other classrooms using high-end materials and technology. The next way I’ll describe is one in which the grant money can be applied to benefit all students in the school rather than to be used in only one classroom that only some students will rotate in and out of. The second method uses lower-end technology and can be used in all classrooms of the school.
Design 1- One really awesome STEM laboratory
The first way that I could use the $150,000 is to create one awesome Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) laboratory in my school. STEM education has become an area of focus in American education because of President Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign. (National Educational Technology Plan, p. 22) A state-of-the-art STEM laboratory provides students with an environment that promotes creativity and innovation. Students that have the opportunity to take part in original research and classroom experiments generally gain a deeper understanding of the scientific process; “Involvement in scientific inquiry can range from relatively brief classroom activities to lengthy projects in research laboratories. It is generally believed that the more authentic the research experience, such as an apprenticeship guided by a science professional, the more likely students will learn about aspects of scientific inquiry” (Bell, Blair, Crawford, & Lederman, 2003) Even more important to learning is that teachers from different departments could collaborate in this STEM laboratory to create cross-curricular projects that show students the relationships between biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and mathematics.
With the grant money, my STEM laboratory would have ample technology for students and teachers to work with. Examples include laptop computers at every lab station, an interactive whiteboard, document camera, high-speed digital camera, and computer-based laboratory software, probeware, and instruments. According to the National Educational Technology Plan, “technology can be used to support student interaction with STEM content in ways that promote deeper understanding of complex ideas, engage students in solving complex problems, and create new opportunities for STEM learning at all levels of our education system.” (National Educational Technology Plan, p. 22)
In theory, I could also design the laboratory room itself to be useful in student learning. Students can actually study energy, power, and many other science phenomena if the lab space is designed correctly:
“Exposed HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems allow students to observe the electrical and mechanical workings of a complex system. Skylights or multiple windows allow students to observe weather patterns and the movement of the sun. Read-only displays of key school data, such as temperature and energy use, can transform the physical classroom into a teaching tool. In general, the science classroom should be an intellectually stimulating environment.” (Butin, 2000)
In addition to the exposed design, the labs could also include windows to the outside to bring in the outdoors. Traditionally science laboratories do not have windows but that would be a bonus for a secondary education classroom and be helpful for biology and ecology classes. Along with the exposed systems and windows in the STEM lab, the space could include two separate spaces in one room: a learning section and a laboratory section. In the learning area, students can collaborate on projects or learn the background information before they begin their independent studies in the laboratory. The dual spaces provides an environment for the teacher to differentiate instruction and break students into collaborative groups to work on various assignments and projects.
In practice, a STEM lab that incorporates all of the ideas that I have described above can be found at the Niles School District in Illinois. At Niles North and Niles West, they renovated a classroom at each school to have an awesome STEM laboratory. Below is a floor plan of their space (LegatArchitects, 2010). They did not add on to the schools- they redesigned the space to create a better environment for the students.
At Niles, they created the two spaces as I described, one for instruction and another for activity. They call the instructional area “The Think Tank” and it “encourages students to think out loud and supports global conferencing. It offers full AV input and output, a plasma TV, projectors/screens, and interactive white boards.” (LegatArchitects, 2010) They second space they created is for laboratory activities and original research. Below is a description of their laboratory area.
“Movable tables and individual work carts that roll under counters give students the flexibility to conduct many experiments. Computer storage with internal charging stations allows students to use their laptops for research or interface with lab equipment (e.g., bomb calorimeter, shaking tables, spectrophotometer). An overhead gridding system and large tabletops allow for optimal connections to equipment, while speakers and microphones transmit throughout the lab.” (LegatArchitects, 2010)
Here are some photos of the STEM labs at Niles North and Niles West.
For the students, these laboratories provide an area that they can be creative, inquisitive, and innovative. They can learn background information and review concepts with the computer, interactive whiteboard, student response system, and collaborative setup of “The Think Tank.” Then, they can apply ideas and actively discover new principles in the highly technological laboratory.
For teachers, this STEM lab provides the space and tools to engage learners and differentiate instruction for every learner. Teachers can collaborate within departments and work together on cross-curricular projects to intertwine several disciplines.
For administrators and the community, the true benefit for creating an awesome STEM laboratory comes from knowing that they are doing the best they can to make their students scientifically literate and preparing them for college. There are also major bragging rights for having something that very, very few high schools in the United States have. :)
Design 2- Technology for all students to learn
Given $150,000, I could institute a lot of change at my school! In my second design, I’m going to show how we could bring technology to EVERY student at my school in most class periods using the resources already available in my school and some tools that cost much less than an entire STEM laboratory. I realize that the assignment is to create one classroom, but I am too concerned with equity in education and I would rather see ALL students benefit from the money than some students gain a lot while others see no change. It’s not fair to rotate kids into and out of the classroom- all students should benefit.
In theory, I could use the grant money to purchase interactive whiteboards, student response systems, and learning software that would benefit all students, every day. Interactive whiteboards help students learn more efficiently because they present information, “in sharp colors, and to annotate, conceal, manipulate, move and zoom in on or focus on images, including text, is also said to enhance the learning process” (Smith, Higgins, Wall, & Miller, 2005)
Furthermore, interactive whiteboards and student response systems motivate students to learn and that they generally enjoy working with them. Researchers have found that students become more motivated through the use of interactive whiteboards: “pupils’ zest for learning was enhanced by the element of surprise that IWBs and accompanying software can bring to lessons.” (Smith, Higgins, Wall, & Miller, 2005) Researches have also studied how students react to interactive whiteboards and what their general views are of them. They found that by far, most students have beneficial views of IWs (Wall, Higgins, & Smith, 2005). The number one reason that students like the IWs is that they are motivational: “Motivation was indicated as a key factor impacting upon the pupils’ metacognitive process (89% of comments were written in the thought rather than the speech bubble). Within this category, pupils mentioned motivation from a desire to actually use the board themselves.” (Wall, Higgins, & Smith, 2005)
The video below demonstrates the power of student response systems. (SmartClassrooms, 2010) The response systems keep students focused, provide instant feedback to learners, and give valuable data to teachers throughout each lesson that guide lesson pace and re-teaching.
In practice, I could bring IWs to all students in my school. In my school, we already have computers, projectors, and document cameras in each classroom. We have laptop carts, 4 computer labs, and 1 computer for every 2 students in the science classrooms. We also have the latest Vernier/ Logger Pro & Pasco/Data Studio software and probeware for our science classrooms. Although we don’t have a fancy STEM laboratory, we can use the money to bring in IW technology that will help all students learn.
Using the technology that we have in my learning environment, we could bring in 20 sets of portable interactive whiteboards (on mobile stands), 20 sets of student response systems, and 20 licenses for the SMART learning software. All of the prices of the SMART technologies are from United Visual, a distributor of AV equipment. (SMART Technologies Corporation MSRP Price List, 2012)
I chose to allocate 3 sets of portable IW systems for all core classes as well as Special ED/ELL. Next, give 2 sets for foreign language (not a requirement for graduation but a common requirement for post-secondary education). Finally, have 1 set for all of the electives. With 20 total sets, there is over $20,000 remaining for professional development for teachers and IT staff.
For students, this means that most periods of every school day they will be actively participating in the lessons with student response clickers and an interactive whiteboard. They will constantly be gaining informal feedback on their understanding of the curriculum and the ability to see progress throughout each lesson. All students will be more motivated and engaged at my school because of the grant.
For teachers, this grant means that they will have more technology and professional development to intrigue and engage Generation Z learners. They will also have the interactive learning software that provides lesson plans and ideas. It will be more work in the beginning for them because it is new equipment and technology, but I imagine given good professional development for both the teachers and IT staff that the transition would be smooth. The student response system will give teachers the ability to formatively assess students in the middle of a lesson to determine if re-teaching is necessary or if students are ready to move on. This can be a wonderful tool and with the grant, it can be available for all teachers.
For administrators, the Smart Board set insures that teachers are making data-based decisions and are current in modern technology. They can collect data during their administrative walk-throughs and attend the professional development to help teachers determine the best ways to use the technology in their content area.
The scenario is that I’ve been awarded $150,000 to use at my discretion. There are two ways to go about solving this problem; one way serves only some students in an elite classroom and the other way to serve all students most school days. While I think that it is a nice idea to have one awesome classroom, my personal preference is to help ALL students learn.
National Educational Technology Plan 2010. (2010). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf
SMART Technologies Corporation MSRP Price List. (2012, February 1). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from United Visual: http://www.unitedvisual.com/pdf/smart_msrp.pdf
ArchiCentral. (2010, January 12). Niles North and West High School Science/Technology/ Engineering/ Mathematics (STEM) Labs by Legat Architects. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.archicentral.com/niles-north-and-west-high-school-sciencetechnologyengineeringmathematics-stem-labs-by-legat-architects-25881/
Bell, R. L., Blair, L. M., Crawford, B. A., & Lederman, N. G. (2003). Just Do It? Impact of a Science Apprenticeship Program on High School Students' Understandings of the Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(5), 487-509.
Butin, D. (2000). Science Facilities. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities: http://www.ncef.org/pubs/science.html
LegatArchitects. (2010, February 5). Niles North and West High Schools. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://isbe.net/construction/pdf/Niles_North_West_HS_STEM_Labs.pdf
SmartClassrooms. (2010, November 19). A Fast and Effective Way to Assess Learning. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3R6gewJ9xg
Smith, H. J., Higgins, S., Wall, K., & Miller, J. (2005). Interactive Whiteboards: Boon or Bandwagon? A Critical Review of the Literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 91-101.
Wall, K., Higgins, S., & Smith, H. (2005). 'The Visual Helps Me Understand The Complicated Things': Pupil Views of Teaching and Learning With Interactive Whiteboards. British Journal of Educational Technology, 851-867
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