Distance Learning Applied to Public Education History Requirement for South Carolina Teacher Recertification

Distance Learning Applied To Public Education History Requirement for South Carolina Teacher Recertification Edward L.. Table of ContentsExecutive Summary...3 Introduction...4 Backgroun

Distance Learning Applied To Public Education History Requirement

for South Carolina Teacher Recertification

Edward L Hilton Southern University of Illinois, Edwardsville

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

IT 540 December 13, 2012

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Introduction 4

Background and Significance 4

Statement of the Problems 6

Solution to the problem: 7

Conclusion: 13

References 15

Appendix A 17

Table 1: Education History Courses in South Carolina Colleges 5

Table 2: Design Principles for Problem/Project-Based Learning Environments 11

Table 3: Professional Development Program 13

Executive Summary

This proposal is based upon a study conducted by the College of Charleston that

examined the occurrence of South Carolina education history in curriculum of South Carolina colleges and universities with degree-awarding education programs The study identified zero occurrence of South Carolina public school history in curriculum of South Carolina colleges and universities granting education degrees

The South Carolina Department of Education response is to develop an educational research workshop focusing on the history of South Carolina public education Problems

identified implementing the workshop is funding, participant geographic diversity, teacher resources, and learning strategies

The proposed solution is implementing the workshop by the use of distance learning utilizing current resources at the South Carolina State Department of education eLearning website Numerous problems in implementation identified were funding, participant geographic diversity, teacher resources, time, facilities, and teaching methodology The selection of a web-based course will be shown to resolve the identified issues Learning strategies will be

incorporated including professional learning development, student-student intervention and peer review to Unlike most teacher-student strategies, this course is designed to be more student oriented with the students participating in the evaluation process and determining their peer scores

Keywords: history, teacher development, certification, distance learning, peer interaction

Distance Learning Applied To Public Education History Requirement

for South Carolina Teacher Recertification

Introduction

Who was Christopher Memminger? What is a “normal” school? What agency sponsored the first form of education in South Carolina? Ask this of any South Carolina public school teacher and you will get the same blank stare found in most classrooms With the age of

technological advances there is a loss of culture in education Teachers today are busy with curriculum and day to day activities putting out academic fires but none take the time to step back and ponder how the educational system arrived to where it is today, especially in their own state The exposure in undergraduate and graduate intuitions was of educational development in the United States but not in their own backyards The use of history can strengthen ties to the culture of teaching Culture of teaching has been overlooked in teachers and educator

professional development The question is, “How to implement the history of the South Carolina public school to educators?”

Background and Significance

The requirement for a teaching a course in the history of public education in the state of South Carolina is the result of a research project generated by the College of Charleston The College of Charleston School of Education, Health, and Human Performance performed a study pertained to the utilization South Carolina public school history in college and university

education programs This study was conducted at the South Carolina colleges and universities identified with education degree programs Course curriculum and descriptions were analyzed The finding was that South Carolina colleges and universities offered basic education courses pertaining to the history of education of the United States with little or no focus on the

development of education in the state of South Carolina See Table 1 for the education history courses offered at the South Carolina colleges and universities

University/College Education history course offered

College of Charleston EDFS 201 Foundations of Education

University of South

Carolina

EDFN 592 - Historical Foundations of American Educational Thought

Anderson University EDU III Foundations of Education

Charleston Southern

University

EDUC 201 - Principles and Philosophy of Education

Converse College EDU 360: Introduction to Education

Table 1: Education History Courses in South Carolina Colleges

The conclusion was that South Carolina Public School teachers are not exposed to the educational history of South Carolina and lack knowledge of their educational heritage The results were addressed to the South Carolina Board of Education who approved the

establishment of an educational research workshop centered on the history of public education in South Carolina The significance of this issue is the “integration of required research and problem solving skills into the teacher training curriculum will help develop the necessary critical thinking skills in prospective teachers.” (O’Hanlon, 1988, p.48) Instructional objectives developed by the College of Charleston Department of Teacher Education were identified as:

1 Identify and discuss key events in South Carolina public school history

2 Explain the role of religion in development of the South Carolina educational system

3 Compare the effects of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to the South Carolina

educational system

4 Compare and contrast educational philosophies in the South Carolina public school history

5 Interpret and summarize scholarly articles pertaining to South Carolina public school history

The South Carolina Board of Education believes learning the educational heritage of South Carolina by research and interaction with other educational institutions and teachers will aid in the professional development of South Carolina public school teachers However,

implementation of the “workshop” is not problem-free

Statement of the Problems

The South Carolina Board of Education identified the following constraints in the

implementation of the workshop

1 Funding With cuts in education budgets, dollars are scarce for facilities, teacher travel, and course materials The workshop must make do with available resources No travel funds will be available for in-residence workshops or development of additional

educational facilities

2 Participant geographic diversity The South Carolina public school systems consist of 46,980 teachers (Education Week, 2012) These pre-K, kindergarten, elementary and secondary school teachers are assigned to school districts geographically located in South Carolina counties Some counties have one school district while others may have several See Appendix 1 for breakdown of South Carolina Counties and School Districts The workshop must be available to all teachers with minimal travel expense

3 Teacher resources Resources for curriculum are limited There are no modern written texts based on South Carolina public school education

4 Time Time must be allotted outside of the classroom for course participation

5 Facilities Due to funding, standard workshops cannot be administered in existing facilities

6 Teaching methodology Teaching strategies must be identified Hea-Jin Lee (2005) stated “Like other teaching and learning processes, professional development cannot be handled by an isolated strategy Each program uses a variety of strategies in various combinations.” (pp 39-40)

Solution to the problem: The best solution to these problems is a series of learning strategies

that will address each issue In residence programs will not be successful because they require a facility to house the instructor and students which is not fiscally possible Even so, it would be difficult to determine a central location that all students throughout the state could attend Video teleconferencing is another option but not every student would have access the equipment required Plus this would require a schedule that may not be possible for teachers to adhere to The time honored tradition of correspondence courses or the present day computer based training does not promote the interaction desired of students

The proposed solution is designed around the constraints identified by the South Carolina Department of Education At the same time, teaching strategies are incorporated Brown and Green (2003) believe “traditional one-size-fits-all professional development workshops are giving way to a new, more teacher-centered, self-directed model of teacher learning Through the Internet, teachers have access to high quality on-line professional development opportunities beyond what the local school or district is able to offer.” (p 148) This solution will center on the teachers as student and allow them to essentially “run” the class The primary role of the teacher

is “that of a facilitator; one who manages the setting and assists students in developing an

understanding of the material or subject at hand.” (Makinster, Barab, and Keating, 2001, pp 3-4) Each of the identified constraints will be used to build the model for this “workshop”

1 Funding The workshop will utilize distance learning via the South Carolina State Department Education eLearning website This eliminates funding requirements for travel to attend the workshop The course will be designed for a standard Internet browser with no additional software requirements for personal computers other than

internet access and email Moodle site utilization minimizes cost as does utilizing the

eLearning SC PD developmental staff

2 Participant geographic diversity “On-line courses can provide convenient access to professional development for teachers who do not have access to traditional learning opportunities based on geographic remoteness or time (possibly both).” (Brown and Green, 2003, p.149) But geographic diversity can be beneficial in providing a more conducive learning environment through social interaction Research by Jung, Choi, Lim, and Leem (2002), “concluded that social interaction is related more to learning outcomes than to learner satisfaction .even for adult learners, social interaction with their instructors and collaborative interaction with peers are important to enhance their learning and increase their participation in online discussions.” (p 160) In addition, Brown and Green (2003) noted that “distant and asynchronous interactions may allow students who stay quiet in traditional classrooms to speak out and be heard” and this opportunity “may particularly benefit minorities and women” (147) Introverted students

in a classroom may become extroverted on-line On-line courses may encourage social interaction Since the premise behind this course is for the students to interact and teach each other via interaction, distance learning by website meets these criteria In addition,

another factor is class size Brown and Green (2003) feel that a class size of fifteen to twenty-five students is ideal for on-line learning to foster meaningful interactions among all of the participants (p 150)

3 Teacher resources There are no published texts pertaining to this subject The

workshop texts will consist of “History of Higher Education In South Carolina, With A Sketch of the Free School System” by Colyer Meriwether and “The Establishment of the Public School System of South Carolina” by Henry T Thompson This will be

supplemented by journal articles such as “The South Carolina Education Bill of 1770”

by J H Easterby, and The Education of Negroes in South Carolina by Frank A

DeCosta Further journal articles are being sought by the School of Education at the College of Charleston All publications will be cleared for copyright and be posted for access by the students These articles are found on-line and once cleared of copyright issues, are presented at no cost Students are required to seek journal articles to review

as part of their coursework and can be added to the workshop “library” for usage of current and future students

4 Time “Successful programs have been made to provide time and facilities for

professional development, often in the evenings or weekends.” (Moore and Kearsley,

2012, p 171) The course will not have mandatory sessions but the participants can participate by posting at their convenience “On-line courses (especially those run asynchronously) can allow teachers to fit coursework into their schedules Because the coursework is not live, teachers can answer discussion questions, turn in assignments, and finish readings at a time that is convenient.” (Brown and Green, 2003, p 149) This allows the teacher flexibility in achieving their coursework

5 Facilities The workshop will utilize distance learning at the South Carolina State Department Education eLearning website “History of South Carolina Public Education Workshop” will be added to the Renewal Course catalog at http://elearningscpd.com/? page_id=132 Since the facilities are “virtual” there are no funding costs Also the issue

of geographic diversity is resolved by making it web-based

6 Teaching methodology “Professional development takes various formats, such as curriculum development committees, professional study groups, workshops, networks, seminars, conferences, coaching, mentoring, in-service programs, professional

portfolios, formal college or university courses, research activities, and professional learning communities.” (Pancucci, 2007, p 286) This course is a component of

professional development in that it is utilized in teacher recertification Strategies selected are the project based learning model and student-student intervention

a Project based learning model Table 2 contains the design principles Barab and Duffy (2000) utilized for problem/project-based learning environments

(Makinster, Barab, and Keating, 2001, p.3) and utilized in the design of the workshop

Engaging Problems Students should be introduced to problems that

engage the community and challenge the student

Learning by Doing Students must engage in active practices, not spend

the majority of their time listening to the experiences

of others

Student Ownership Students must assume ownership of the problem and

the development of a solution

Collaborative Work The work should be collaborative and social.

Reflection The opportunity for reflection both during and after

completion of the work must be central

Teacher as Guide The teacher's role is one of a learning and problem

solving expert, rather than a content expert

Table 2: Design Principles for Problem/Project-Based Learning Environments

b The “workshop” goal is to produce an academic paper based on a topic related to South Carolina public school history “The first component is a driving question that organizes a long term, authentic investigation or design project.”

(Makinster, Barab, and Keating, 2001, p 3) During the workshop, the student will identify a research topic upon which they will generate a research paper which can be interpreted as a “driving question” Throughout the course, Barab, Hay, Barnett, & Keating believe “students engage in inquiry-based activities in support of the driving question” (Makinster, Barab, and Keating, 2001, p 3) This is the interaction between them in critiquing journal article reviews An added benefit identified by Brown and Duguid,(1991) and Savery and Duffy, (1996) is “one of the central issues in learning in this type of environment it that learning involves becoming a practitioner, not simply learning about practice” (Makinster, Barab, and Keating, 2001, p.3) The driving question is the research topic for the final paper “The second critical component in a project-based learning model is the production of tangible, meaningful and authentic artifacts

as the end products of the learning activity (Makinster, Barab, and Keating,

2001, p.3) For this course, the artifacts are identified journal reviews and the final paper