Problem Solving With Partnerships NACCTEP Annual Conference February 26, AM-Noon, Room Aqua 305 Dr. Susan Butler Gulf Coast State College

Problem-Based Learning Any learning that occurs while grappling with a problem Problems are usually ill-structured in nature (no known solution path) Best problems for teaching are ones relevant to students and of high impact (impact 50+ people) Requires team work

QUESTION Choose the “best” PBL problem: A)Find the square footage of this room. B)Should Pres. Obama expand oil-drilling in the Gulf of Mexico? C)What should ABC College choose as a Quality Enhancement Project?

Process of Problem- Based Learning 4

QUESTION True or False? PBL is a linear process.

Our Problem How can we, as the local post-secondary institutions (USA University and America Community College) aid K-12 education by increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in core content areas in such a way that we…. (see next slide) White = Statement of Problem Yellow = Our Roles in the Problem Pink = Conditions Governing the Problem

Conditions Utilize existing post-secondary and K-12 personnel (no new hires) Decrease the number of out-of-field teachers Provide accessible, high quality content that prepares participants for success on subject area teacher certification exams Address pedagogy unique to the subjects Utilize outside funding of $770,000 to develop the project Complete the project in one calendar year

Process of Problem- Based Learning 8

QUESTION What do we “know?” A)The number of out-of-field teachers B)The subject area(-s) with the most out-of- field teachers C)The budget for the project D)The content delivery format

Process of Problem- Based Learning 10

Group Work In your groups of 4 (or less), list your knowns and unknowns. Speculate on what research might uncover concerning your unknowns. 10 Minute Task: a) Generate a potential solution. b) Choose a spokesperson c) Prepare to give a 1 minute presentation of your solution.

Rating Solutions As you listen to each group’s presentation, rate each presentation using a scale from 1-5 where: 1 is lowest score 5 is highest score You will be asked to voice your score at the end of each presentation. Note: You may NOT vote on your own group’s presentation.

Debriefing List examples from the solution presentations that you feel are the best methods to use in solving this problem. Write these in your “notes” section. Share aloud.

QUESTION As you listen to the actual solution devised by Gulf Coast State College and Florida State University-Panama City: a)Make a check mark in the tally column of the Debriefing Session Notes handout if you hear this example mentioned in the GCSC/FSU-PC actual solution b)At the end of the actual solution, count the total number of tally marks. c)Record this number.

One Team’s Solution: Gulf Coast State College and Florida State University-Panama City GCSC professors-content experts University professors-pedagogy experts Created 8-week, facilitated online classes Subject areas: Physics, Chemistry, Math 6-12, Math 5-9, English 6-12, Social Studies 6-12, Middle Grades Integrated Participants assigned an online mentor (K- 12 veteran teacher in subject area)

One Team’s Solution: Gulf Coast State College and Florida State University-Panama City Embedded “Classroom Applications” into each content course Each course had a pre-test and an end-of- course test Piloted 5 of the courses with 71 participants Pilot participants had to construct lesson plan using course concepts and be observed teaching this plan

QUESTION Tally Marks A = None B = 1-3 C = 4-6 D = more than 6 How do you think we did?

Results 5 of 7 courses were completed (not Physics or Chemistry) in time to pilot All pilot participants showed positive gains on pre/post test comparisons Pilot participants scored higher than the state average on certification exams Number of out-of-field teachers reduced (% varied by subject area)

Challenges Time Too complex to manage efficiently (course facilitation, lesson plan creation, observations, online mentors) Personnel capacity How to disseminate state-wide Attrition of pilot participants

Second Year Changes GCSC professors-still content experts K-12 veteran teachers were pedagogy experts and course facilitators Online mentors discontinued Physics and Chemistry courses finished State standards embedded explicitly in all courses and included in Classroom Applications

Second Year Changes Courses opened to 400 participants statewide 10 Principals volunteered to train as observers Registration process changed; some knowledge of subject area required to register

Lessons Learned Why our partnership worked: Each institution had its own budget Responsibilities of each institution were clearly articulated and agreed upon Weekly partnership meetings were held where problems could be immediately addressed Leadership of both institutions were supportive of project

QUESTION This presentation made me more interested in using problem-based learning methods. True? False?

QUESTION This presentation made it more likely that I would participate in a cross-institutional partnership. True? False?