Teachers learn from one another through Internet

Teachers learn from one another through Internet

Science and math teachers in Indiana's middle schools and high schools can eavesdrop on one another to share information about lessons and materials, thanks to a new electronic network developed at the University of Indiana School of Education.

Last week, teachers throughout Indiana inaugurated a system for hooking up their personal computers to the education school's Internet Learning Forum and virtually visiting other teachers' classrooms to discuss approaches to teaching math and science and to share teaching materials.

"The ILF is a resource to support continuous professional developments and we at the IU School of Education are proud to offer this service to the many teachers of Indiana," said the education school's dean Donald Warren.

The service, whose developers expect up to 300 Hoosier teachers to use by the end of this academic year, enables math and science teachers to watch other teachers, look over colleagues' lesson plans, examine students' work and reflect on their own practices, the University said.

"Videos of each others' classrooms anchor their discussions," said IU Professor Sasha Barab, the program's head.

"We see a math teacher in his or her school and another teacher could actually see that teacher doing that lesson."

Teachers get more than the benefits of mere eavesdroppmg on fellow teachers.

"They can click on Overview and get a class context lesson overview including discussion and goals.

They can see another teacher's lesson plan, example of students' work and teacher comment on lessons," Barab said.

"It's very useful for beginning teachers."

The essence of the network is sharing information about the teaching craft to improve teachers' classroom practice, the School of Education said.

"We believe that learning involves not only sharing information, but also becoming a member of a community that shares common goals, methods, history and identity," Barab said. "We hope the ILF will become a community of practice in which beginning and experienced teachers can share thoughts and stories about the teaching process."

The system's primary space is called "Visit Classrooms," where teachers can get support through videos for their lesson plans and connect to Indiana state standards and resources. The program is also intended to provide information to Indiana University faculty about the Internet in education.

Barab said the university is discussing its knowledge network with Chicago Public Schools officials, where spokesman Jeff Burdick described the system's structured curriculum program.

The program affords teachers access to daily lesson plans through an electronic network that, he said, "fulfills all our academic requirements that we test fore and that are required by the (State of Illinois)."

He said new CPS teachers benefit most from their online connections to the curriculum program.

"It's broken down by grade level, year and by course," he said. "Teachers working outside their specialties also benefit. A calculus teacher teaching freshman-year algebra can have structured lesson plans to fall back on."

CPS has announced no decision about whether to adopt an extensive academic network such as that being developed at the University of Indiana, where Barab said the program is especially useful to new teachers.

"They have talked about methods of teaching in class, and now this system gets teachers engaging seeing other teachers who ale doing inquiry based learning," Barab said. "They create problems and situations that challenge students to inquire into finding their own answers, not witnessing videos of talking heads."

At CPS, Burdick said Chicago teachers have opportunities to learn the use of computer technology in their classrooms in three continuous courses.

"We teach how to use lesson planning with CPS and we teach technological integration with CPS through lessons in class," he said. "Also, the Technology and Infusion workshop taught in summers shows our teachers how to create their own web pages for student use."

Neither the CPS program and the Indiana University program is restricted to math or science.

"We hope it becomes an alternative form of professional development that uses advanced techniques in all disciplines," Barab said of the Indiana University knowledge network. "There is no reason art teachers, for example, shouldn't be sharing their practice with other art teachers."

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