February - Vol 69, No 5 - International Technology and Engineering ...

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Temperature: Results from Simulated Daylight Period Figure 3. Representative temperature results from the simulated day/night period. Results Results from the 76 summer institute participants’ pre- and posttests (shown in Figure 5 below), developed by faculty based on science and technology content and solar house concepts, showed an average pretest score of 52.17% (29.74 out of 44 questions) compared to an average posttest score of 66.27% (37.78 out of 44 questions) (Capital Area Intermediate Unit, 2009). A two-tailed P value less than Results of Summer Science Institute Pre- and Posttests (Capital Area Intermediate Unit, 2009) Figure 4. Completed house model. results during 15-minute rotating presentations. Figure 4 provides an example of a completed house model. A rubric was used to evaluate the solar house model, the temperature results from the challenge, and how well the team worked together. Solar-energy-themed educational items were awarded to school districts based on the results of the evaluation rubric. Figure 5. Results of participants’ pre- and posttests. 32 • The Technology Teacher • February 2010
α=.0001 (t=9.4263, df = 150, sed = 0.854) was calculated using an unpaired t test on the means, demonstrating a strong, statistically significant difference between the pre- and posttests means, indicating an increase in STEM content knowledge. Qualitative results from the summer institute survey (shown in Figure 6 below) show that knowledge of science concepts, cooperative learning in science or math, and project-based learning in science or math were among the top components rated “greatly increased” by teacher participants. The project is also being assessed through classroom observations during the present academic school year. It will be interesting to see the extent to which teachers incorporate project-based, STEM-integrative approaches involving engineering and technological design principles in their classrooms as a result of their summer institute experience. My content knowledge of math concepts My content knowledge of science concepts Instruction in mathematics Instruction in science Cooperative learning in science or math Constructivist learning in science or math Problem-based learning in science or math Project-based learning in science or math Inquiry-based learning in science or math Understanding of academic standards in science Please rate the impact of the MSP program on the following activities in your classroom. 0 20 40 60 80 Greatly Increased Increased Neither increased nor decreased Decreased Greatly decreased N/A Figure 6. Qualitative results from the summer institute survey. Lesson plans that were developed by participating teachers seemed to indicate acceptance of technological/ engineering design pedagogy into their curriculum. An examination of the lesson plans developed for 2009 showed that approximately 39% of the lessons focused on technological/engineering design and 52% focused on inquiry. This is more than twice the percentage that focused on design in 2007 and 2008, which focused primarily on inquiry as the pedagogical basis for content delivery during the summer institute. Curriculum development results are provided in Table 1. Year Conclusion Design-Based Lessons Developed During Summer Science Institute Inquiry-Based Lessons Developed During Summer Science Institute 2009 39% 52% 2008 17% 61% 2007 10% 42% Table 1: Analysis of Curriculum Developed during Summer Institutes by Year One item that we all agreed that we would change is the evaluation of the projects themselves. Although the rubric that we used was helpful, we would want to develop it further so that it would more effectively reveal the differences in the projects. In addition, the rotating presentation-and-evaluation schedule meant that some of the teams had too much down time. If this approach were implemented in the classroom, evaluations and presentations would have to be carefully structured in order to avoid the down time. This was a wonderful experience! The work load was heavy, but I am leaving a better teacher, energized and more comfortable with my understanding of various science/math/and technology concepts. This has made me feel better about communicating science standards/concepts in my classroom. Thank You!! Figure 7. Participant quote. The project-based, STEM-integrated approach to professional development involved a great deal of planning and coordination, but the results were well worth it. Figure 7 provides a quote from one participant that was representative of the feedback from teachers on the summer institute evaluation survey. Teachers became very enthusiastic about the challenge aspect of the project and seemed to be gratified in having learned about some of the science behind alternative energy, some authentic alternative energy projects located in their region, and how to incorporate engineering and technological design into science instruction. References American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1990). Science for all Americans. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 33 • The Technology Teacher • February 2010
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