Professional Documents
Culture Documents
willis@uhcl.edu
weiser@uhcl.edu
meyerj@uhcl.edu
ABSTRACT
integration in curriculum areas that can be replicated in their future classrooms. Teacher
candidates need to work with a model curriculum that supports a variety of technologies.
opportunity to work with standards based curriculum. This approach offers teacher
candidates an opportunity to work with curriculum that crosses grade levels and content
areas, promotes and supports the development of well planned technology-rich lessons
integrate technology into curriculum to enhance student learning processes. The study
teacher candidates to use technologies to support their teaching and enhance student
learning. The results of this study will provide invaluable information for science
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
of these students never experience the outdoors nor do they understand how they are part
of their community. The urban students often see only streets, buildings, and storm
drains. These students have little understanding of their city and most have never heard
of a watershed. The urban student may hear about environmental issues such as
contaminated water supplies or poor air quality but do not understand these and other
issues. Some may experience flooding but most do not understand their place within
their watershed. These students know little about their environment, natural resources, or
Students of today are the voters of tomorrow. They need a better understanding
of their environment and environmental issues affecting them. One would assume that
the classroom teacher would have the responsibility for teaching these concepts.
However, a majority of the pre-service educators graduate and obtain teacher certification
McKeown-Ice, only nine percent of teacher colleges require elementary education major
to take a practicum in environmental education and only seven percent of the teacher
colleges require a practicum for high school teachers (McKeown-Ice, 1999). In addition,
very few schools require their teachers to teach about the environment or incorporate
environmental education into their curriculum (Flanagan, 1999). Thus, teachers do not
feel comfortable nor do they have the necessary background to teach about the
processes, teachers need to identify needs, plan, implement, and assess instruction using
technology and other resources. Many argue that successful technology use in schools
opportunities for practice and reflection, and prepare candidates to apply technology in
classrooms (Kent & McNergney, 1999; Pellegrino & Altman, 1997). However, too often
technology training is offered early in teacher education programs when candidates have
had little experience integrating technology into student learning processes and do not
have models on which to build their own visions of integrated classrooms (Cifuentes,
2001; Schrum, 1999; Strudler & Wetzel, 1999). Early introduction often leads to
technology use isolated from content, methodology and pedagogy resulting in candidates
throughout the curriculum in any grade, educators frequently choose not to use or teach
environmental education. Often environmental education is viewed as a science teacher's
studies, and communication skills. Teachers in all the given subjects are often not
comfortable in teaching environmental education and are not familiar with the infusion or
governments often do not require environmental education and do not provide the needed
training for implementing environmental education. Thus, students are not achieving
environmental literacy.
incorporate the study of the environment and environmental education into science
methods but this often limits the audience to those pre-service candidates seeking
certification in science related area. If the study of the environment and environmental
education can be infused into other disciplines, then the audience broadens. All teacher
candidates at UHCL are required to take a technology training course that introduces
them to technology integration strategies for use in the PK-12 classroom. Preparing
learning. Teacher candidates need to work with curriculum that supports a variety of
technologies. Hence, a partnership between the technology course and science methods
METHODS
Complementary data collection processes (Shulman, 1986) were used to provide
depth and breadth in identifying and analyzing the skill development and integration
strategies of the teachers candidates enrolled in the technology training course. In this
study, the integration of survey data, a pre/post technology skill assessment instrument,
reflection paper, WebQuest development, and lessons plans offered the researcher an
opportunity to develop a complete analysis of participant outcomes (Gall, Borg & Gall,
1996). Qualitative and quantitative results of the study based on data collection and
education curriculum as the basis for developing lesson plans and indicated intentions of
continued use of the curriculum in their future classrooms. The study also highlighted a
strong need for more investigation into areas of grade appropriate technology,
The examined outcomes of this study were: (1) evaluation of measurable lesson
technology that support the lesson objectives and assessment, (4) collaborative projects,
and (5) increased use of environmental education curriculum in the PK-12 classroom and
pre-service education.
DATA SOURCES
the Classoom at University of Houston – Clear Lake were introduced to the tools and
skills necessary to understand and operate computers, navigate the Internet and World
Wide Web, and create a variety of multimedia products. The course includes educational
technology into the curriculum. Emphasis was on the comprehensive integration and
implementation of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
(Texas Education Agency, 2001) as required for all beginning teachers in Texas, and
those tools that have important implications for the creation of products with the
telecomputing technologies. made up the research pool. The candidates were assigned to
use an Environmental Education curriculum as their foundation curriculum for all course
work.
RESULTS
The results of this study are helping the University of Houston - Clear Lake and
learning process while discovering how science and the environment can be used as an
integrating context for learning. As a result of this model candidates would obtain the
skills needed to better prepare and teach integrated lessons that are inquiry based and
incorporate technology.
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