Evolving Uses of Technology in Case Study-Based Teacher Education

Abstract

This presentation/paper discusses the evolution of technology-facilitated, case study-based professional development by examining three projects involving the National Center on Adult Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania/Graduate School of Education. The projects in chronological order are Captured Wisdom: Stories of Integrating Technology into Adult Literacy Instruction, the International Literacy Explorer: A Teacher Training Tool for Basic Education, and the Professional Development Kit (PDK): Multimedia Resources for Instructional Decision Making. These projects are in various stages of completion and represent an evolving variety of solutions to the challenges of effective, technology-facilitated teacher education. We briefly discuss some of the conceptual background for using the case study method for teacher education and some of the limitations of using written case studies. We then discuss how technology can facilitate the use of case studies in professional development. Finally, we look specifically at the three projects, which were developed over a period of several years and how each responded to the issues raised in the earlier projects.