What did they try?

The College of Education at Towson University is trying to determine how the integration of technology in the curriculum and teacher participation in Towson-sponsored professional development activities, such as the mentoring program, the Technology Academy, or the PDS partnership, affect student achievement, motivation, and engagement in learning. The project also is examining elements that appear to be critical to the success of the integration of technology into the curriculum. They will consider how the findings from this investigation can be integrated into the learning experiences of pre-service teachers at Towson as well as other professional development opportunities and how the University can help other schools implement successful technology practices in their curricula.

In partnership with three economically and academically diverse elementary schools in Harford County, Towson is

• determining what types of equipment are available in the schools for teacher and student use;
• discovering ways teachers, interns and support staff in these schools are using technology in the curriculum currently;
• examining what types of technology-enriched projects and products are being created in these schools;
• learning about the impact technology integration has had on the academic achievement of these elementary students;
• ascertaining if participation in various professional development technology initiatives at Towson (i.e. pre-service teacher courses; internships and teacher placement; technology mentor/prot&eacutre;g&eacture; partnerships through PT3; and graduate courses) has influenced the use and integration of technology in the curriculum in these schools.

What worked and why?

The school surveys, created by committee, were successfully distributed and collected from teachers, principals, and technology liaisons. The preliminary data is now being analyzed. An interesting preliminary finding is that teacher, administrator and tech coordinators' attitudes tend to be more positive toward the use of technology and its promise in education in the school with the highest level of economically disadvantaged students. It is surmised that these results are influenced by the extensive technology planning that took place in that school, enabling the staff to share in a vision, participate in a variety of staff development opportunities, and to work cooperatively with the tech coordinator to integrate technology enhanced lessons in their teaching.

What didn't work and why?

Major changes have been a challenge. For example, two of the schools lost their technology coordinators. Changes in technology equipment at several of the schools have occurred. For example, computer labs have been dismantled and distributed to classrooms, and, in some cases, computers have been lost altogether. There also have been changes to the originally selected schools: one was dropped from the PDS Network and had to be replaced with another school.

What will they do next?

Next steps include:

• conducting face-to-face interviews with at least 2 teachers in each school as a follow-up to the written surveys;
• collecting and evaluating samples of technology- created/enhanced student projects;
• engaging in in-depth analysis of all data; and
• publishing and presenting results to Towson College of Education faculty and professional organizations.