Designing a Technology-Based Science Lesson: Student Teachers Grapple with an Authentic Problem of Practice

This project used techniques from problem-based learning to aid students in developing a technology-based science lesson. In this case, the " problem " students were asked to solve, was that of combining curriculum knowledge and pedagogi-cal skills to incorporate computer graphics animation technology within a science lesson and then teach the lesson to secondary students. Student artifacts as well as field notes kept by the researchers, minutes of research meetings, and written reflections from the researchers all served as data sources. Final assertions supported by the data were: (a) insufficient class time was devoted to the project, (b) lessons taught using the computer graphics technology were effective in teaching science concepts, (c) the pairing of content area specialists and graphics specialists proved to be the most successful organization for project groups, and (d) the student teachers displayed positive attitudes towards the use of multimedia presentations in the classroom. Researcher conclusions recommended the continuation of the project in an effort to increase the implementation of technology within the classroom, especially since a large majority of students showed improved achievement in science after the graphics-enhanced lessons. One important implication drawn from the project was the ability of the preservice teachers to positively influence the use of technology by the cooperating teachers.