Case Study

Australia Intel Teach Program

Learning for 21st Century Life

The Intel Teach Program is helping Queensland teachers to make learning for 21st century life a reality for their students. At Bracken Ridge State High School, Noel Gibson successfully integrated ICT and the Intel thinking tools, teaching his Year 12 students essential money management skills for life, alongside digital literacy, data analysis and critical thinking. For Tammy Duncalfe, also a teacher at Bracken Ridge, the Intel Teach Essentials Course sparked change in her teaching approaches so much so that many of her Year 9 language students have now developed enough independence to direct and take significant control of their own learning. The Intel Teach Program is aligned with Education Queenslands Smart Classrooms strategy, in particular the Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework.

The most important strategy to engage students is not just simply to use ICT, but rather to create real life assessment tasks that require students to use higher order thinking skills, collaborate and problem solve to present a conclusion.
Noel Gibson - Teacher, ICT Coordinator and Intel Teach Master Trainer, Bracken Ridge State High School.

Challenges

Students need education which is relevant to them today and will prepare them for life in the 21st century. This should include the integrated use of ICT across the curriculum and the whole school. Teachers need support and development opportunities to enable them to adapt to the changes in student and parent expectations of the learning experience.

Approach

A clear and realistic professional development pathway for teachers is implemented. The courses offered within the Intel Teach Program are particularly beneficial for teachers who are beginning to explore how ICT can be integrated into best teaching practice. Teachers collaborate and support each other, working together through the professional development pathway. Education leaders and school communities support teachers in their development.

Benefits

Teachers generate meaningful and engaging learning experiences for their students, strategically using ICT to enhance learning. Students enjoy learning, and the independent enquiry which innovative and appropriate use of ICT can foster. They begin  to acquire the important 21st century skills which they will need in their future lives.

Managing the cost of 21st century living

Comparing details in different mobile phone plans may not be an obviously stimulating topic for students, but Noel Gibson from Bracken Ridge State High School isnt afraid of a challenge! Noel is a teacher who has used technology in innovative ways for many years, but the unit of work he designed during his Intel Teach Thinking with Technology Course, took learning to a new level. Prevocational Mathematics (Prevoc Maths) is a course for Year 12 students who are planning to move into the workforce at the end of the year. Keen to ensure that final year students learnt relevant and important maths lessons for life, Noel created a unit of work which used ICT in new and exciting ways to support students as they investigated the uses of mobiles, and compared phone plans. Although Prevoc Maths groups can be challenging in terms of student engagement, this unit turned any preconceptions around, with parents and the school community witnessing new levels of student involvement. Both students and parents were fascinated by the discoveries, some wishing they had been armed with the information prior to entering into current mobile phone plans. Bracken Ridge State High School is located in north east Brisbane, with students coming from a range of socio-economic groups and many diverse backgrounds, but there wouldnt be many who arent captivated by mobile phones and the myriad ways in which they can be used. Whilst most parents and students agreed at the beginning of the unit that they were spending more than they would like on mobile phones, most were not fully aware of how and where their money was going, and which options could offer significant savings. Designed around a series of Curriculum Framing Questions, the unit encouraged students to think more deeply about the broad and far-reaching topic of how we communicate and why. The over-arching

Essential Question and title of the unit was How do we communicate? Students considered how their lives might be affected if they did not have a mobile phone, and whether mobile phones are a cost effective way to communicate. They undertook an in-depth and authentic learning task; taking on the role of financial planners, students researched and presented a workshop for young people showcasing the best mobile phone options. Students created research surveys and then conducted them using personal digital assistants (PDAs). Their surveys focussed on analysing the differences in mobile phone usage between Year 8 and Year 12 students. Bluetooth technology enabled the collation of data in the classroom. Students also analysed a variety of phone plans and the differences between pre-paid and contract packages. They calculated yearly costs for different case study users, and then applied their learning to real life, recommending and justifying which plans would be suitable for students in Years 8 or 12. These recommendations were shared with each other via various digital technologies, including MP3 players, digital and video cameras and PDAs. Wherever possible, Noel ensured his students had a range of different technology options for submissions and presentation of their learning. Using ICT in my teaching allows me to structure innovative, interactive and exciting activities that suit the learning styles of the digital natives that are in our classrooms, Noel Gibson says. Critical literacy was also integrated into this Prevocational Maths unit, as students explored the kinds of incentives and marketing used by mobile phone providers, including the hidden costs in promotional brochures and in the small print of phone plans. The Intel thinking tools were used by students to visualise more complex thinking around the topic. The Visual Ranking Tool was used to consider the relative importance of various mobile phone

Using ICT in my teaching allows me to structure innovative, interactive and exciting activities that suit the learning styles of the digital natives that are in our classrooms
Noel Gibson

My students are now driving a richer environment for their learning, partly as a result of their use of ICT for learning
Tammy Duncalfe

Tammy has found her students are more prepared to take risks with their language skills when working online. The online environment means students are more relaxed and comfortable about their learning, resulting in students being bolder and prepared to experiment, an essential attribute for language learners to improve speaking and listening skills. Technology also provides more options through visual and audio applications, enabling students to explore and discover which learning styles are most effective for them. Internet use has also brought greater freedom and choice in their studies of Japan as a country, enabling individual students to explore particular aspects (culture, history, geography, diet and lifestyle) which interest them most. Every year students from Year 9 Japanese classes at Bracken Ridge undertake a two week excursion to Japan. During the excursion, the course website becomes an all-important communication tool for parents and students. Prior to the trip, students collaborate on every aspect of the trip, from their personal learning goals down to detailed packing lists. While students are away from home, the website enables parents and children to stay in touch. In another use of websites, Tammys students created a fan club website for a contemporary music artist with written text, video and audio clips all in the Japanese language. Tammy can see that for many students, technology gives them confidence. It also allows them to be less selfconscious and therefore able to focus on language development. Tammy recognises that her students are now driving a richer environment for their learning, partly as a result of their use of ICT for learning. Her students access the course websites frequently, checking for new content and materials. Her students are not shy about communicating with their teacher about what they need and how they would like to develop their skills; new ideas and activities are put forward for teacher and student review as students independently reflect on their progress.

features to the purchaser. Students used the Seeing Reason Tool to help understand the factors which contribute to a user incurring significant mobile phone debt. Students finally created advertising copy, designed to educate young people on comparative cost differences between pre-paid and contract plans. A key contributor to student engagement during this unit, was that final year students were challenged to think through what the information meant for them, their spending patterns and lifestyle. Students were able to identify the relevance and importance of maths for their future lives, the authenticity of the task generating independence and self direction. Noel found his students began to seriously question just how much they really needed their mobiles. Armed with clear, unbiased data, students and their families planned to use what they had learned to help them analyse mobile phone options in more detail in the future as well as for their personal needs. The most important strategy to engage students is not just simply to use ICT, but rather to create real life assessment tasks that require students to use higher order thinking skills, collaborate and problem solve to present a conclusion, Noel Gibson says.

Smart Classrooms in Queensland schools

The current generation of students are now learning and speaking ICT with ease. They thrive on its functionality, portability and adaptability. They use ICT to play and live. Its in keeping with the need to motivate and engage todays students that the Queensland Department of Education and Trainings Smart Classrooms strategy was born. Since its inception, the Smart Classrooms team has created a raft of cohesive initiatives that focus on improving the teaching and learning experience for all. One of the pinnacles of the strategy is the Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework. The framework is a professional learning guide that helps teachers embrace digital pedagogy. It features three levels that teachers are encouraged to progress through: the ICT Certificate, Digital Pedagogy Licence and Digital Pedagogy Licence Advanced. Once they demonstrate their pedagogy aligns with a framework level, teachers receive formal acknowledgement. Importantly, the framework has been designed so all teachers can benefit from progressing through it, regardless of what and where they teach. Working alongside the Intel Teach Program, teachers who successfully complete the Essentials course or Thinking with Technology course are eligible for their ICT Certificate.

Bringing language learning to life

Until Japanese language teacher Tammy Duncalfe, took part in an Intel Teach Essentials Course, using ICTs for learning had not been a significant focus for her teaching of Japanese. According to Tammy, the course was a catalyst for change in how she approaches her teaching. In developing a unit of work, Tammys first step was to embed the creation of a student website, and at this point she began to realise how ICT could open up a much wider range of teaching strategies than she was currently using. With her primary aim being the motivation, encouragement and engagement of her students, Tammy has now succeeded in embedding a variety of digital tools and applications which are clearly bringing learning for 21st century to life in her Japanese classrooms. She has transformed how her Japanese students learn, both inside and outside the classroom and today she can confidently say many of her students are now in the driving seat when it comes to their learning. The introduction of a Japanese course website meant students were able to access course materials anytime and anywhere. Student work, teacher feedback and assessment was exchanged via the site, while blogs and wikis enabled students to share information and ideas.

The Intel Teach Program

Intel is committed to improving education to prepare students to thrive in the global knowledge economy. One of Intels most successful worldwide programs is the Intel Teach Program, a professional development program that helps teachers improve the effective use of technology in the classroom to promote 21st century learning. The Intel Teach Program was introduced into Australia in 2003. The Intel Teach Program is adapted in each country to address specific needs and has been localised by Australian teachers. The portfolio offers a range of face-to-face and online offerings designed to enable teachers to introduce, expand and support 21st century learning in the classroom. The Intel Teach Program is a joint initiative between Intel and participating Departments of Education. The program is also offered to pre-service teachers in selected universities.

Evaluation Data on Intel Teach

The program has gained wide acceptance amongst the teaching community. A longitudinal evaluation, conducted by Deakin University1, shows that as a result of the Intel Teach Essentials Course teachers are increasingly using technology to plan and implement lessons that are inquiry driven and student centred. They are using technology and project based approaches more frequently to create a learning environment in which students develop 21st century skills such as collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking. Evaluation results are indicating an increased impact on schools; following the course, 96% of teachers are seeing an increase in the integration of ICT across their school classrooms; 82% have developed new unit plans based on the Intel Teach framework, mostly in collegiate teams, and 83% are using technology in new ways. 1 The strong alignment of the course to the states curriculum and pedagogical initiatives has been very significant in influencing its impact at a classroom level and its capacity to support whole school change towards technology based learning. To date, more than 17,000 Australian in-service and pre-service teachers have completed the Intel Teach Program, together with over 6 million teachers in more than 40 countries.

Intel Education Initiative The Intel Education Initiative is Intels sustained commitment to prepare all students, anywhere, with the skills required to thrive in the knowledge economy by improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technology, and advancing maths, science, and engineering education and research. Through a sustained public-private partnership with educators and governments in more than 50 countries, Intel works with international organizations and governments at an international, national, and local level. It invests approximately USD 100 million per year in education programs adapted to address the needs of each country to advocate for 21st century educational excellence through policy work and awareness efforts.

For more information on the Intel Education Initiative and the Intel Teach Program, visit: www.intel.com/education/au

This document is for informational purposes only. INTEL MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT. Copyright 2009, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, the Intel logo, the Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 0509/LF/CM/2000 320966-001
1.

Intel Teach Essentials Course Impact Evaluation, Deakin University, 2006