Student+and+Teacher+Technology+Transformation+Teams+(ST4)+Project

Student and Teacher Technology Transformation Teams (ST4) is an NSF funded project for increasing the ability of secondary STEM teachers and students to collaboratively learn and apply STEM skills using Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This project will provide teachers and students the opportunity to work in teams and use web-accessible ICT tools to produce design-based learning labs (DBLLs) that consist of web-based multi-media enhanced presentations of technical solutions to current, real-world problems. Producing and evaluating DBLLs helps students understand the processes and interactions encountered in professional work and stimulate development of in-depth technical knowledge and skills. The proposed training will include teachers and students in statewide Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

The ST4 training model includes the most important elements of effective teacher professional development: ongoing learning, institutional support, hands-on classroom-based experience, individualized training, follow-up training, mentoring, and a train-the-trainer approach. The model is well suited for anchoring Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills within the technical methods and practices of STEM disciplines. It is aligned with the theory of "technological pedagogical content knowledge," or TPCK, as outlined by Mishra and Koehler, which stresses the need for teachers to learn ICT tools in the context of teaching in their own discipline.

ICT training will have two focal points. (1) Teachers will focus on how to utilize ICT and Design-Based Learning Labs (DBLL) methods to improve student learning. (2) Students will learn how to use ICT to gather and apply knowledge specific to their chosen STEM discipline and how to collaborate effectively with peers, teachers, and mentors on team projects. DBLLs will be the main output from learning teams and will consist of proposed solutions to problems or designs that address global or community-oriented needs.