Teachers’ Professional Development using ICT and

Student Achievement in Secondary Science in the United

Arab Emirates

Alexander W. Wiseman, Ph.D.Comparative and International

EducationLehigh University

aww207@lehigh.edu

Emily Anderson, M.Ed.Education and Teacher Certification

Centenary Collegeandersone02@centenarycollege.edu

Purpose of Study

Rapid growth in education and ICT in region.

International evidence of lagging science performance.

Teachers often focus of educational reform.

Provide evidence base for policymaking.

Problem Statement ICT transforms teaching and

learning in schools. Teachers under-trained in

integrating ICT in instruction. Impact of digital divide in the

Gulf/UAE. Need for constructivist

instructional methods coupled with ICT training during pre-service and in-service teaching.

Preliminary Findings

Female students out-perform male counterparts under same circumstances.

Urban schools post greater increases in student achievement associated with ICT-based instruction compared to rural schools.

Research Questions1. Does the incorporation of ICT-

based instruction lead to increased student achievement in secondary science courses?

2. Does teachers’ professional development in ICT for instruction increase their use of ICT tools in their instructional practices?

Data & MethodsTIMSS 2007

International Association of Education Achievement (IEA) 60 countries 8 benchmarking communities 13-year-olds (8th grade equivalent) Math & science assessment Student, teacher/classroom, principal/school background

questionnaires

Descriptive statistics Frequency distribution, central tendency

Inferential statistics Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM)

RQ1: Does the incorporation of ICT-based instruction lead to increased student achievement in secondary science courses?

HLM analyses demonstrate (student level effects):

1. Lower achieving students are more likely to use computers in their science lessons.

2. Higher achieving students are more likely to come from higher SES backgrounds.

3. Higher achieving students are more likely to speak the language of the test at home.

RQ1: Does the incorporation of ICT-based instruction lead to increased student achievement in secondary science courses?

HLM analyses demonstrate (school level effects):

1. More experienced teachers are more likely to have higher achieving students.

2. Teachers who use computers to do science experiments in science lessons are more likely to have low performing students.

RQ2: Does teachers’ professional development in ICT for instruction increase their use of ICT tools in their instructional practices?

HLM analyses demonstrate (student level effects):

1. Higher achieving students are less likely to use computers in their science lessons.

2. Girls are less likely than boys to use computers in their science lessons.

3. Students from higher SES backgrounds are more likely to use computers in their science lessons.

RQ2: Does teachers’ professional development in ICT for instruction increase their use of ICT tools in their instructional practices?

HLM analyses demonstrate (school level effects):

1. Participating in teacher professional development in ICT has no impact on the frequency of computer use in science lessons.

2. More highly educated teachers are more likely to use computers in science lessons.

3. Teachers who use computers in science lessons for analyzing data and practicing skills are more likely to use computers than those with other reasons.