Lecture Notes in Computer Science- P21 pot

90 Y T. Carolyn Yang et al. more teachers to participate our program. Due to these arrangements for training, we influenced more than 16,000 elementary, junior, and senior high school teachers and more than 10,000 students to learn from the PBL.NET. (Note: The number was con- servatively calculated by this formula: the influenced people = the registered people on the PBL.NET * 3.) So far, all cities and counties in Taiwan have LFs, coaches, teachers, and schools that have been influenced by the program. Besides being responsible for the training of LFs, we also offer financial support for the regional training of coaches, and for the administration and materials for LFs. In order to improve the results of the training, we encourage teachers to design their own WebQuest lessons. After the training for all levels is finished, we will hold a competi- tion and offer some prizes for those teachers with high quality performance. 4 Design of Training Material for the Peer Coaching Program The training materials have basically been adopted from the original Peer Coaching materials, with some parts localized such as WebQuest lessons. Moreover, we have also incorporated some professors’ expertise and practical experiences. We have al- ready finished the design of the training materials for the LFs. As to the training ma- terials for coaches, there will be some modifications depending on how the training for the LFs proceeds. Table 1 is a list of the areas that are covered in the materials both for the LFs and for the coaches. Table 1. Training subjects, abstract and training hours Subjects Training Hours Abstract Introduction of Peer Coaching Program in Taiwan LF: 3 hrs Coach: 1hr The introduction of digitalized learning environment, learning community, purposes, implementation method, organization structure, and evaluation method for the Peer Coaching Program in Taiwan. Knowledge Management and Learning Community System LF: 3 hrs Coach: 1hr The introduction of online platform design and system construction, the functions of knowledge management and learning community, and the functions of teaching and class management. WebQuest LF: 4.5 hrs Coach: 2hrs The introduction of Internet learning environment, class design strategy, scenario teaching, and WebQuest design skills and application. Operational Knowledge Management, Community System and Application LF: 3 hrs Coach: 1hr The publication and sharing of WebQuest material and the organization and operation of learning community. Coaching Skills LF: 1.5 hrs Coach: 1hr The introduction of the coaching roles and responsibilities, and the demonstration and practice of the communication skills. The Practice and Experience Sharing of Three-Year Peer Coaching Program in Taiwan 91 5 The Application of the PBL.NET in Professional Development 5.1 Framework of the PBL.NET The PBL.NET (http://pbl.linc.hinet.net/) is a website dedicated to teachers’ profes- sional development using a peer coaching strategy. Teachers are encouraged to use the “WebQuest Design Template”, a user-friendly WebQuest lesson editor, to design PBL instructional materials and share them with peers in “Digital Library”. As the name implies, “Digital Library” is a warehouse of PBL instructional materials designed by teachers. Teachers can search the instructional materials with multiple searching ap- proaches in the library and store selected ones in their “Teaching Pad” for reference. The library also provides the function of peer evaluation of the artifacts. Users can provide comments and rating for the artifacts they have used or reviewed inside the library. About Us Login Registration Our Family Admin Tools Digital Library My Office My Favorites Teaching Pad Web Lesson Design Template My Students Mailbox My Study Room Mailbox My Favorites Study Pad My Pals Who's Online Ranking System Posting News Membership Databank Learner Profile Web Lesson Repository Annotation & Assessment Learner Profile Web Lesson Index & Retrieval Forum Hall of Fame Professional Lounge Access Control Log Files Analysis Full Text Search My Studio My Favorites Kids' Study Pads Web Lesson Design Template Mailbox Learner Profile Fig. 3. The Platform of PBL.NET 5.2 Significance of the PBL.NET As of October 2007, there are 3440 schoolteachers and 1090 schools using the PBL.NET. The numbers are outstanding when they are compared with national statis- tical data pertaining to schools in Taiwan. In other words, 2% of school teachers and 32% of schools in Taiwan already took part in the PBL.NET project. The number of WebQuest lessons submitted by teachers is also an indication of significance. As of 92 Y T. Carolyn Yang et al. October 2007, over 2000 WebQuest lessons were shared in the “Digital Library.” The wealth of instructional materials in the PBL.NET is a promise of success. 6 The PBL Materials with WebQuest Design A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet (Dodge, 1995). A Web- Quest is a highly valued instructional strategy of constructivism during which learners actively build their own critical understanding of a topic. Authentic or real-world questions or problems are often researched, and learners may work cooperatively to find solutions. Dodge proposed that creating a WebQuest is not much different from generating any kind of lesson. It requires getting learners oriented, giving them an interesting and doable task, giving them the resources they need and guidance to complete the task, telling them how they will be evaluated, and then summarizing and extending the lesson. The procedure of a WebQuest learning activity is as follows: (a) Introduction: a good introduction makes the topic relevant to the learner’s past ex- perience and future goals: attractive, visually interesting, and important because of its global implications, urgent because of the need for a timely solution, and fun because the learner will be playing a role in making something; (b) Task: a description of what the learner will produce by the end of the exercise. It provides a goal and focus for student energies and it makes concrete the curricular intentions of the designer; (c) Process: the teacher suggests the steps learners should go through in completing the task. It may include strategies for dividing the task into subtasks, or descriptions of roles to be played or perspectives to be taken by each learner; (d) Resources: it lists web pages and other materials pre-selected for the learner so that attention can be focused on the topic; (e) Evaluation: a new addition to the WebQuest model to justify the expense of using the web for learning and to be able to measure results. This rubric gives spe- cifics in fulfilling the requirements so that there is no room for disagreeing with the scoring; (f) Conclusion: an opportunity to summarize the experience, to encourage reflection about the process, to extend and generalize what was learned, or some combination of these activities. 7 Evaluation of Peer Coaching Project in Taiwan 7.1 The Purpose of Evaluation The purpose for evaluating the Peer Coaching project in Taiwan is to understand the opinions and suggestions of school principals, teachers, and students through a different lens, based on which we can effectively improve the performance of the project. The evaluation includes four surveys (Post-Unit Survey, Feedback Survey for Peer Coaching Training, Skills and Practice Survey, and Local Facilitators’ Attitude Survey), empirical evaluation of the research results, and interviews. Table 2 briefly displays the objective, participants, and time of administration for each of the evaluation instruments. The Practice and Experience Sharing of Three-Year Peer Coaching Program in Taiwan 93 We quantitatively analyzed the performance of our first-year project. To further explore the teachers’ and students’ feelings and perspectives, a qualitative and dis- covery-oriented interview was included in our second year evaluation. Thus, from these two complementary instruments, we are not only able to understand the current overall status of the project through quantitative analysis but also to qualitatively identify participants’ thoughts and needs and identify the factors that influence the willingness of the teachers (including LFs and coaches) who promoted this project. In addition, we conducted vigorous empirical analysis of the research results, which showed the ef- fectiveness of the WebQuest instructional strategy (one type of web- and inquiry-based instructional strategy) in improving students’ higher order thinking, learning motiva- tion, and academic achievement. Finally, in the second year, we transformed the paper and pencil surveys into web-based surveys (using PBL.NET), greatly saving us time and human resources and helping us to evaluate the project more efficiently and effectively. Table 2. The Evaluation Instruments Evaluation Instrument (Participants) Objectives Format 1. Post-Unit Survey (LFs) Investigate LFs’ understanding of the training materials 5-point Likert Scale 2. Feedback Survey for Peer Coaching Training (LFs) Receive feedback on the promotion of Peer Coaching training 5 open-ended questions 3. Skills and Practice Survey (LFs and Coaches) Investigate LFs’ and coaches’ ICT skills and their willing to integrate ICT skills into their instruction 7-point Likert Scale 4. Local Facilitators’ Attitude Survey (LFs) Investigate the LFs’ willingness and needs to promote the Peer Coaching project 5-point Likert Scale Awareness of ARCS Model Motivation Inventory Investigate the effectiveness of WebQuest on learning motivation 35 5-point Likert Scale questions Critical Thinking Test-Level I Investigate the effectiveness of WebQuest on critical thinking ability (1) 25 multiple-choice questions (2) Maximum score = 25 5. Empirical Research (Students) New Problem Solving Survey Investigate the effectiveness of WebQuest on problem solving ability 15 questions 6. Interview (Teachers and Students) Understand teachers’ and students’ opinions and suggestions for taking part in PiL project and using WebQuest in their teaching and learning (1) 13 open-ended questions for teachers (2) 10 open-ended questions for students 94 Y T. Carolyn Yang et al. 7.2 Results and Discussion 7.2.1 Post-unit Survey A total of 45 LFs filled in surveys in the 2nd and 3rd years, respectively. In the 3rd year, we cancelled “Coaching Skills” parts because teachers in the 2nd year asked to have much time to design the WebQuest. Table 3 shows the results. We found that LFs gained a clear understanding of the course content. Table 3. Results of Post-Unit Survey Topic Area Knowledge Management and Learning Community System WebQuest Coaching Skills 2nd year 4.07 4.24 4.28 3rd year 4.14 4.35 7.2.2 Feedback Survey for Peer Coaching Training A total of 45 and 39 LFs filled in the 2nd and 3rd year survey, respectively, and pro- vided some training suggestions as follows: (1) Increase the time for WebQuest activities (2) Increase the stability of the system and provide a new hard disk for file upload (3) Provide LFs with standard workbooks and handouts (4) Choose suitable people for training 7.2.3 Skills and Practice Survey (S & P Survey) (1) Pretest for the 2nd and 3rd years A total of 281 teachers filled in the survey, including 59 and 56 LFs and 82 and 84 coaches in the 2nd and 3rd years, respectively. From Figures 4 and 5, we observed that teachers possess the ability to integrate ICT skills into their teaching. However, they made infrequent use of this skill, which suggested that they were capable but did not know how to integrate ICT skills into their teaching. Therefore, in the 3 rd year, we will focus on increasing real practice based on ICT skills and fostering the teachers’ willingness to participate. In addition, as shown in Figure 5, the coaches of the 3rd year have lower scores than those of the 2nd year because most of the teachers in the 3rd year come from remote areas such as Miao-Li and Kaohsiung Counties. We purposely promoted this program to remote areas to bridge the digital divide between urban and suburban areas. (2) Pretest and posttest S & P results In the 3rd year, from the 281 teachers in the 2 nd and 3 rd years, we sampled 50 LFs and 30 coaches who participated in the project over the past six months to conduct the posttest of the Skills and Practice Survey. The results of the t-test indicated that the pretest scores of three (S, A, and F) subscales for LFs were . and training hours Subjects Training Hours Abstract Introduction of Peer Coaching Program in Taiwan LF: 3 hrs Coach: 1hr The introduction of digitalized learning environment, learning. WebQuest instructional strategy (one type of web- and inquiry-based instructional strategy) in improving students’ higher order thinking, learning motiva- tion, and academic achievement. Finally, in. proposed that creating a WebQuest is not much different from generating any kind of lesson. It requires getting learners oriented, giving them an interesting and doable task, giving them the resources