HOW TEACHERS USING MODELING INSTRUCTION OBTAINED
TECHNOLOGY - and how you can, too!
(Written in 1997; updated in 2008. By Jane Jackson)
The Modeling Instruction Program teaches the modeling method to high school
physics teachers nationwide. Fifty teachers were involved in the first phase of our
Leadership Modeling Workshops for a total of 10 weeks in summers 1995 to 1997. About
150 more were involved in the second and third phase from 1997 to 1999. Although the
modeling method can be implemented without any technology, the use of technology
makes its implementation far more efficient. This article discusses the experiences that
the first 50 teachers had in obtaining technology.
To fully implement the modeling method of physics instruction, one computer
workstation is recommended for every three students. A workstation includes several
MBL probes and a lab interface. Old or new computers can be used to implement the
basic modeling method. Late-model computers are best, or recent products such as
Vernier Software & Technology’s LabQuest or Pasco Scientific Company’s Xplorer GLX,
which don’t require computers.
Our goal is to get computers (or LabQuest or Xplorer GLX) into the physics
classroom to be used as scientific tools with appropriate teaching methods. Scientific
simulation software and Internet simulations require computers and can improve the
ability of physics students to learn by modeling physical phenomena scientifically.
About half of the 50 teachers had no trouble getting all the technology they
needed through their school district. The teacher's involvement in this project, in
many cases, was the key to their obtaining the technology. Their administration and
school board were pleased to provide them with new computers and equipment because
of research showing the effectiveness of the modeling method.
The other half of the teachers had to look outside their school districts. Some
teach in disadvantaged districts; others are in schools where student-used technology in
science is not valued. Searching for classroom technology was a new experience for most
teachers. Most public school teachers must make their own contacts and write their own
grants. A few of our teachers work in private schools that have development directors
who help in writing grant proposals. Even so, some of these grant writers write only for
the school, and not for the individual teachers' classroom needs.
How teachers obtained technology by nontraditional means:
Here are examples of efforts by the teachers to obtain technology outside usual
channels in the school district.
• The quickest success was by a beginning midwestern public school teacher in an
affluent district. She wrote a two-page proposal to a local educational foundation and
was awarded $10,000. She gave an oral presentation to the parent-teacher
organization and they awarded her $2500.
• A teacher at a private school made a phone call to a nearby government laboratory
and explained his involvement in our reform project. He was given $500 on the spot.
He was told that if he had asked earlier in the year he would have been given much
more. He was promised funding for the next year.
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A Massachusetts teacher fared well with a corporate donation: she was given 10
refurbished computers and two printers by a public utility company as a result of her
phone call to the company's education outreach manager. The refurbishment process
dragged along until finally school personnel volunteered to help.
On the other hand, a teacher in the South easily got six computers donated by a local
high tech company that she contacted. The computers were refurbished quickly and
at no cost by her school district. In these two cases, the schools were committed to
school-wide use of computers and had computer technicians on their staffs.
A plains state teacher approached an oil company that has a plant in his region
because he needed 4 computers. He persisted for several months in spite of cancelled
appointments and unreturned phone calls. He thus became acquainted with several
company executives. His district technology coordinator joined his efforts. His
persistence paid off: the company eventually donated to his school district three
dozen refurbished computers! Later he wrote a grant proposal for lab interfaces,
probes and software to that company's foundation.
On the other hand, a California teacher in a disadvantaged school was poorly served
by private sector donations. He contacted a government institution and was given
$1000 worth of surplus equipment, including a few old computers. None of this
equipment has been of much use to him. Later his school/business partnership
coordinator got him several refurbished computers from California’s Computers for
Schools program (http://wwwnt.thegroup.net/detwiler/default.html). They were
infected with a virus. The promised refurbishment and upgrading wasn’t done.
Finally this industrious teacher found a way to get computers from a $100,000
technology grant for his school’s new engineering academy.
A Florida teacher wrote to 10 corporate and private foundations with no apparent
results. His school, sensing his dedication, finally supplied him with eight
workstations, using money from a building fund. Later he received a $1000 check in
the mail from an international corporate foundation to which he had written a twopage letter two months earlier. Several other teachers in our program had written
similar letters to that foundation at the same time and failed. Why was this particular
teacher successful? Perhaps because he had been using the modeling method for a few
years and thus had the advantage of proven commitment.
One teacher obtained a few technology grants by writing proposals to private and
corporate foundations that he found at the public library in the Foundation
Directory. (Information on employing this strategy is given later in this article.) He
bought physics software for his school library with Federal Title 6 funds and checked
it out for the year.
A teacher at a private school was awarded $25,000 from a local private foundation
after several months of negotiations involving the head of the school and the school's
development officer, who wrote a several-page formal grant proposal.
A teacher in the South, who had only one computer in her classroom, wrote letters
and grant proposals for a year to many corporations and corporate foundations with no
success. Her persistence finally paid off, however; she was awarded a $50,000 Goals
2000 technology grant through her State Department of Education.
A few teachers had little success in spite of their efforts. One person wrote to 50
corporate foundations over a year and submitted several grant proposals with no success.
However, her principal surprised her by buying computer interfaces and MBL probes.
After a couple of years, she got computers to use them!
None of our teachers asked for business help in getting internet connections.
What we can learn from this:
What can we learn from these examples? First, teachers face many different
situations in trying to get technology from outside their school. When you begin such a
task, you may have to try different approaches, and it can be a matter of luck and timing.
Personal contact can be important; a phone call to the right person can result in
immediate results. A corollary is that approaching local companies and foundations can
give the best results. Teachers have power; a corporate representative can sense your
dedication and enthusiasm, but you must learn to express your needs clearly in a brief
phone call. Persistence pays off; do not take no for an answer, even if you keep contacting
a company for months.
Contact groups composed of parents (like PTA's and service organizations), since
they care about the quality of their children's education.
Often a short proposal, in letter form, can do the trick. Be wary of getting involved
with lengthy formal proposals and negotiations unless you have ample help.
Be wary also of accepting equipment that might turn out to be of marginal use.
Check donated computers carefully (ask a computer whiz to help) to see that they work,
have enough disk space and speed, and have no internally-used software packages which
create difficulties when trying to re-format disks, etc.
Work with the full knowledge and cooperation of your school administration. If
you fail, your school may sense your commitment and get you the equipment in the end.
We prepared a generic multi-page grant proposal for technology and made it
available to our teachers since they have no time for such activities. Some of them
adapted it for proposals to various agencies and foundations. They are grateful for the
jump start!
Strategies that you can use to seek technology:
How can you start the process of seeking corporate or private help in getting
technology? First, speak with your administration and get their approval and support.
Ask your school's tech specialist if donated computers are allowed.
Barriers that might present themselves include these. Some schools, unfortunately,
require that only certain brands be used on campus. Others might try to require that your
refurbished computers be networked to the school – which you don’t want. Others might
be afraid that they would need to service your computers; assure them that you and your
students will take complete responsibility for maintenance. They might fear misuse of the
internet, in which case assure them that the computers will not be connected to the
internet.
Then the simplest action might be to call local corporations that use computers
and thus might be upgrading. Look in the yellow or white pages of the phone book and in
the business section of the newspaper. Notice stocks of local interest and articles
featuring local corporations. Drive to an industrial section and jot down company names.
Utility companies are good prospects, as are technology companies, banks, and large
industries.
Then call the company. Ask for the name of the education outreach or community
relations manager. Contact that person's office and introduce yourself. Briefly explain
your technology needs and tell them about your involvement in education reform; ask
how (and when) they can help. If you cannot reach the right person by phone, write a
two-page letter to that person, explaining your needs and including information about
your use of modeling instruction. Follow up with a phone call and ask how they would
like you to proceed. Invite them to visit your classroom or a physics event to get their
attention and pique their interest. Persist!
Another strategy is to get a list of corporate and private foundations in your state
that give grants for education. In each state at least one public library, called the
cooperating library, has this information, in a publication called the State Foundation
Directory. To identify these libraries, call the Foundation Center at 212-620-4230. Or
visit http://fdncenter.org, and click on "cooperating libraries". At the cooperating library,
ask a reference librarian to help you find the directory. Look up foundations that give to
education and call or write them.
The Foundation Center publishes books on how to write grant proposals, and
books are available at libraries. A book entitled Securing Funding for Educational
Technology focuses on K-12 schools and districts and thus may be particularly helpful.
(Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1995. Call 1-800-479-9799 to order.)
Clearinghouses to recycle computers and equipment for placement in schools and
nonprofit agencies exist across the nation. You can find lists of many places where you
can obtain used computers and equipment by a google search for ‘recycle computers’;
type the name of your city.
There may be a way to get technology by a cooperative effort involving a Local
Physics Alliance grant or an interdisciplinary grant involving several faculty in your
school.
One more thought is for your State Department of Education to form a partnership
with computer leasing companies. This was suggested to me by the public affairs officer
of a large electronics firm in Phoenix that phased out its computers. They lease their
computers, and the leasing company did not want them back. The company sold them to
their employees because they did not know what else to do with them. The executive
expressed dismay when I told her that most high school science teachers don’t have
student-used computers. “How will they get into the 21st century if they don’t have the
tools?” she asked. She suggested that teachers start at the top: write to the governor.
A fall-back strategy:
Maybe you see no immediate way to get technology. Then a first step could be to
ask a technical person to volunteer in your classroom, helping you find local sources for
computers and funds, providing expertise in setting up and maintaining the technology
you eventually get, and sharing computer knowledge. You might find someone by asking
service organizations, your local science alliance, your school/business partnership
coordinator, or your Chamber of Commerce.
Or go to your public library and look up the Encyclopedia of Associations, which
lists professional societies. Contact their education, outreach, student affairs or public
affairs department and ask for names of local volunteers. For example, the Ohio-based
Materials Information Society (ASM) has a School Partnership Initiative with a database
of volunteers. Their phone number is (216) 338-5151.
Another possibility is the Tech Corps, a national, non-profit organization funded
by the business community that uses volunteers to work with school districts to integrate
technology into the learning environment. For information, google Tech Corps for your
state. Ask your district to get involved; then request a volunteer.
Final thoughts on technology and physics education reform:
Computers have proved their worth in the physics classroom when used as
scientific tools with appropriate teaching methods. Scientific simulation software can
improve the ability of physics students to learn by modeling physical phenomena
scientifically.
Thus to prepare your students for the challenges of the 21st century, seek
classroom technology and get involved in research-informed physics education reform
like Modeling Instruction. They are a winning combination and the time is right.
More success stories: quotes by teachers in Phase 2 and 3 (1997-2000):
“I have completely changed my techniques. Numbers in my classes have risen. We
passed a bond for a new high school and not a planning meeting goes by without
someone (usually not me!) reminding everyone of the need for equipment in science
classes and especially physics. Using modeling theory, I have convinced board members
and administrators that I already know how increased technology will be applied in my
teaching and therefore have moved to the front of the funding line. My department chair
relies on me to be able to articulate how technology can be utilized in science education.”
“[My chemistry teacher] and I were recently awarded an additional $10K from an alumni
donor, some of it to fund equipment and supplies for our chemistry modeling project!”
“Our tech coordinator sent each staff member a memo soliciting requests for the 100 or so
new computers received through Student First money. I submitted a 4-page
request/justification and received 10 new PC's!! So I have updated my physics lab with
them!!! I am currently using them, and plan to do multimedia presentations, as well as
have students submit one lab in the form of a Power Point presentation! I was able to
purchase video editing software, so now video can be incorporated into the presentations!
There were teachers who requested a new computer to do word processing and grades but the tech coordinator refused them new technology: She is looking for exemplary
usage. I will also be leading workshops in Web Page building; Power Point
presentations; How to utilize the full power of Cut and Paste in a word document; etc.”
“The district has a Foundation that raises money to supplement teacher's curricular
activities. We (all teachers - all levels - all areas) are invited to submit our proposals for
support funding. I submitted a grant proposal of $26K for upgrading the physics
technology and acquiring materials that aid in the implementation of the modeling
methodology. Along with my proposal I included supporting documents and excerpts
from various papers including some by Dr. Hestenes and from some of the Physics
educational
research articles that we read during the workshops. I also included the little piece about
Gregg Swackhamer that was in the Parade magazine and how he was on the Modeling
staff.
I received $1500 from the "MulePushers Foundation" and that was the largest
amount apportioned to any one teacher this year. But the story doesn't end there.
Just before our break for Christmas I was called into the Principal's office and was
informed that a parent had been impressed enough by what was occurring in physics that
they wished to anonymously donate the full $26,000 dollars to the program. Well, the
district decided that it would be best to lower the amount to a more reasonable level (they
were afraid of major backlash from other teachers about why did one person get so much
especially when this is their first year) so the parent agreed to cut back but insisted on
nothing less than $12000!
From this amount I have purchased 4 new Dell computers and the 4 full lab setups from Vernier (getting the LabPro system) as well as the CASTLE materials for 8 lab
groups, Interactive Physics, and 4 lab sets of the PASCO Dynamics sets and Basic Optics
sets. I understand that I may get the other portion of the money next year!
Now if that isn't a definite recommendation of the success of using the modeling
methodology for instruction, I don't know what is! The students enjoy coming to physics.
They are really learning how to become creative problem solvers and critical thinkers.
This has been for the most part a great year! I'm one month ahead of where I was last
year, and next year with the new equipment I know that I will do even better since
several labs will take less time to collect data and analyze.”