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The STEP (Secondary Teacher Education Project) Web is an innovative learning environment on the World Wide Web that supports case-based instruction for teacher education. Created by UW-Madison education professor Sharon Derry and colleagues, STEP Web resources aim to help future teachers acquire

• a scientific language for thinking about how students learn and develop within disciplines;
• instructional strategies and tools for helping students learn with understanding; and
• flexible transfer -- the ability to combine, adapt and apply the knowledge and tools acquired through STEP and other teacher education courses to classroom teaching.

A recent evaluation study produced statistical evidence of significant growth in students' ability and propensity to activate and combine concepts from the learning sciences in the analysis of videotaped lessons.

An undergraduate teacher education course, based on approaches and materials from the STEP Web, is being offered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The course centers around in-depth discussion and learning from videotaped classroom lessons. The resources include:

• stories of lessons, and of student learning and development resulting from lessons, in actual classrooms. These cases include edited video of the classroom plus additional materials that supply information about context
• instructional problems and projects that make use of cases. They are designed to promote in-depth analysis and, through such analysis, development of knowledge about how to support student growth through instruction
• a network of case-related links to Web pages and other resources discussing core concepts from cognitive psychology and other learning sciences
• access to expert case analyses and live human expertise (currently under development)
• links to online conferences and case discussions (currently under development)
• links to additional tools and resources that teachers can use to help them adapt and implement ideas acquired from study of cases

The STEP project was originally developed within the WCER’s National Institute for Science Education and funded by the National Science Foundation. Funding now continues from the Joyce Foundation.

Preservice teachers are encouraged to learn so they can later adapt and apply the principles and resources acquired through STEP Web to the design of their own lessons. Research has shown that this type of transfer is difficult to achieve. Derry’s premise is that high level transfer of professional teaching knowledge and skill can be attained through an approach to web-based instructional design based on Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT).

CFT holds that the goals of advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains (such as Web sites) must include flexible and adaptive knowledge transfer. In knowledge transfer, students assemble an appropriate set of ideas as a basis for creating unique models of real-world problem situations. This goal can be accomplished with instructional techniques that require students to re-examine the same domain concepts on multiple occasions in the context of multiple real-world cases and problems. CFT suggests that instruction with hypertext, including the World Wide Web, has potential to convey knowledge complexity and promote cognitive flexibility.

STEP Web instruction

The instructional strategies involving use of a CFT site influence how students navigate and study the complex conceptual terrain. These strategies must encourage students to construct multiple understandings for cases and use concepts repeatedly in case analysis, in different combinations. The strategies Derry uses to meet these conditions in the STEP Web are case-based and problem-based learning.

In case-based learning (CBL) students learn subject-matter knowledge as they study and analyze cases, often experts’ solutions to real-world problems. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a form of facilitated, small-group, student-centered instruction in which learners acquire subject matter by discussing and analyzing case-based problems (e.g., redesign Mr. Smith's algebra lesson) and by conducting research to find material (e.g., psychological concepts and related instructional methods) as required for solving the problems.

Derry says that the two approaches are increasingly popular and frequently combined in instructional settings, both on and off the Web, in professional education as well as K-16 settings. Derry refers to the combined model as case-based/problem-based learning (CBPBL). The STEP site supplies instructions for running CBPBL activities that engage small groups of preservice teachers in discussions, research, and instructional design. This instructional approach is illustrated in the following example.

Case, study: Static electricity

In spring semester, 2000, the 55 students enrolled in Derry’s educational psychology course were assigned to small groups of 5-7 students. The groups studied together within a CBPBL format. During the semester, each student participated in two different CBPBL groups. Each group was assigned a problem and a case to study. For example, a case assigned to a group of science majors was “Students Get a Charge out of Static Electricity." This case was presented on STEP Web as readings, videos, and inquiry materials.

The case tells the story of an actual science unit in a public school taught by a popular teacher and representing a good case of traditional instruction. The problem was to advise Mr. Johnson (the teacher) on how to improve the unit and to justify the group's redesign in learning-sciences language. Derry expected that students would redesign the lesson, developing a more authentic, inquiry-based approach for the unit.

After studying the case individually on STEP Web, students began their group work in class by discussing the case and identifying things they needed to learn more about in order to solve the redesign problem. Between classes, students researched their learning issues, bringing varied findings to their group discussions.

STEP Web was made available as a primary research tool that could be used either during or outside of class. The links and navigational tools within STEP Web scaffolded students' research while allowing them to pursue interests in depth. By selecting any of the links associated with any segment of the video case, a student could enter the conceptual network in the knowledge web. They could study case-relevant concepts exposing scientific points of view and inviting further exploration of related ideas and idea families. Research beyond the materials in STEP Web was also promoted, since links led to other library and WWW resources. Some students also purchased and used optional textbooks.

The problem required about four weeks to complete. The tutor guided students through class and on-line discussions of their research, during which time they identified positive and negative aspects of the instruction within the case and proposed new instructional solutions. In the third week they posted their redesign with explanations on a Web conference for peer evaluation and consultation with experts, including scientists and educational experts. After revision, a group design report was submitted and evaluated as a course requirement.

Evaluation of STEP Web

The STEP implementation during spring semester, 2000, represented a process of continuous user-centered design. Students provided critiques and suggestions that were used to improve STEP Web throughout the semester. Intensive feedback was first obtained from a small number of students who volunteered to be research subjects, but all students eventually were surveyed to obtain their feedback and satisfaction ratings.

Most students in the UW-Madison course were pleased with the knowledge Web by mid semester, but their comments indicated that further development was needed. Based on students' concerns, there was need to add to and improve resources on STEP Web, improve navigation, and provide instructional supports within the course to speed the process of learning how to use the site.

An analysis of a single CBPBL group demonstrated that students struggled with core concepts from the course and that discussions of cases provided opportunity for learners to socially construct meanings, share knowledge, negotiate conflicts, and integrate ideas from other courses. Significant shifts in some individuals' conceptual understandings were documented. Lectures in between the class discussions proved to be meaningful for the learners if they discussed concepts or ideas imparted by lecture sessions. These findings suggest that the instructional model as a whole is viable in terms of course goals.

Derry and colleagues are now continuing three specific lines of work :

1. Expanding STEP resources, focusing specifically on the development of new and improved video-based instructional cases
2. Conducting research that will guide design of better instructional cases
3. Building and testing conferencing tools within STEP to support a distributed (distance) form of CBPBL that will permit improved course implementation on a larger scale with fewer human resources. This addition will also provide new users with early guidance in use of STEP Web and will therefore minimize some reported difficulties in learning to use the site effectively.

For more information visit the site at www.wcer.wisc.edu/STEP