A partnership between two universities and two public school systems has been established to develop new models for advanced teaching and learning that use computing and communication technologies.
The Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools will be a collaborative effort of Northwestern University, the University of Michigan and the Chicago and Detroit public school systems.
The universities will work with the school systems to implement technologies that will be models of science learning based on actual science practice, including simulation and scientific visualizations.
The project, funded by a $2,156,075 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern, is directed by Louis Gomez, associate professor of education and social policy at Northwestern. Coinvestigators are Roger Schank of Northwestern University; Elliot Soloway, Ronald Marx, Joseph Krajcik and Phyllis Blumenfeld of the University of Michigan; Clifton D. Burgess of the Chicago Urban Systemic Initiative; and Juanita Clay- Chambers of the Detroit Urban Systemic Initiative.
The four-partner project is one of only two national centers funded by the NSF to address the issue of improving education by using new computing and communications technologies.
Gomez said the Chicago and Detroit school systems are currently developing and implementing reform programs in math and science education in K-12 classes, including new curriculum frameworks; standards and practices for professional development; and community-based structures to support classroom teaching and learning.
He said, "The center will work with these two urban educational systems to create school organizations that will facilitate the implementation of new technologies in science curricula and routine components of the learning experience.
Soloway said that modern computing technologies will help teachers and students meet the demands of new state and national science guidelines.
"The technologies also enable all learners to engage in serious intellectual activity," he said. "The center's fundamental challenge, then, is to develop strategies that support teachers and students in using these technologies effectively."
Teams of school teachers and researchers will work to understand how to make the new technologies work in both urban and non-urban schools across the country.
The School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern also received two other grants from the NSF for other studies on technology and education, both related to the work of the new Center.
One is a three-year grant of $950,395 to address the challenge of teaching middle- and high-school science students to be reflective as they learn science through inquiry in the classroom. The research will combine empirical research with software and curriculum design of technology-supported learning activities.
Brian J. Reiser, Daniel C. Edelson and Gomez of the Learning Sciences Group in the School of Education and Social Policy are principal investigators for the project.
The proliferation of software used in science studies has made it difficult for students to manage and reflect on this massive amount of information, said Reiser. "Students have difficulty coordinating the process of their investigations and managing complex information in their studies."
Reiser said researchers plan to develop a Progress Portfolio -- a model that will give students the mechanisms for turning their work products and processes into practices that will foster reflective inquiry on their observations. The portfolio will study the critical thinking skills involved in planning and conducting complex investigations.
The other NSF grant of $495,777 is for a three-year project to build computer-based applications that help curriculum to be a learning opportunity not only for students but for teachers, parents and administrators. It will focus on building capacity in school communities as learning organizations to support new curriculum and reform. Researchers on this project are Gomez, Edelman, James P. Spillane and Roy D. Pea, all of the Learning Sciences Group.
(Source Contact: Louis Gomez at 847-467-2821 or at [email protected])
(Media Contact: Chuck Loebbaka at 847-491-4887 or at [email protected])
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