This research study investigates the impact of the wireless environment on high school science using a purposeful sampling of schools with high implementers. Five schools will be examined and extensive data in multiple forms will be collected on each. The project uses in-depth case studies to examine context factors (e.g. technology implementation plans, school culture, extent and type of teacher professional development and teacher background) and critical interactions that may influence science instructional practice in wireless high school science classrooms. The study will result in an evidence-based and theoretically-grounded professional development model that will inform professional developers, administrators, policy-makers and teachers.
The research will enable the PIs to develop a professional development model to help schools make reasonable choices about initial installation, deployment and training; and to help teachers to access digital resources with ease, select resources that will further their teaching goals, effectively evaluate the quality of a digital resource in terms of the additional value that it affords to enrich science understanding and content, develop pedagogical strategies to enable student interactivity with such resources to enrich classroom discourse and interaction, and develop strategies to use digital resources effectively in being able to assess student work.
