Enlist micros: Training science teachers to use microcomputers

A National Science Foundation grant to the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) at The Colorado College supported the design and production of training materials to encourage literacy of science teachers in the use of microcomputers. ENLIST Micros is based on results of a national needs assessment that identified 22 compentencies needed by K–12 science teachers to use microcomputers for instruction. A writing team developed the 16-hour training program in the summer of 1985, and field-test coordinators tested it with 18 preservice or in-service groups during the 1985–86 academic year at 15 sites within the United States. The training materials consist of video programs, interactive computer disks for the Apple II series microcomputer, a training manual for participants, and a guide for the group leader. The experimental materials address major areas of educational computing: awareness, applications, implementation, evaluation, and resources. Each chapter contains activities developed for this program, such as viewing video segments of science teachers who are using computers effectively and running commercial science and training courseware. Role playing and small-group interaction help the teachers overcome their reluctance to use computers and plan for effective implementation of microcomputers in the school. This study examines the implementation of educational computing among 47 science teachers who completed the ENLIST Micros training at a southern university. We present results of formative evaluation for that site. Results indicate that both elementary and secondary teachers benefit from the training program and demonstrate gains in attitudes toward computer use. Participating teachers said that the program met its stated objectives and helped them obtain needed skills. Only 33 percent of these teachers, however, reported using computers one year after the training. In June 1986, the BSCS initiated a follow up to the ENLIST Micros curriculum to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a complete model of teacher enhancement for educational computing in the sciences. In that project, we use the ENLIST Micros curriculum as the first step in a training process. The project includes seminars that introduce additional skills: It contains provisions for sharing among participants, monitors use of computers in participants' classrooms, provides structured coaching of participants' use of computers in their classrooms, and offers planned observations of peers using computers in their science teaching.     

Evaluation of the individualized education program: A comprehensive approach for special service teams

A comprehensive approach to evaluating the Individualized Education Program (IEP) is delineated. The approach has been developed by the authors and used by special service teams in numerous public school districts. It consists of four interrelated evaluation strategies: evaluability assessment, process evaluation, outcome evaluation, and consumer evaluation. Utilization of each strategy by a special service team at a particular point during the IEP process results in obtainment of specific kinds of evaluation information that can be useful in program development, modification, or outcome determination. In the paper, each evaluation strategy is defined and discussed. Also, practical considerations for installation of the total evaluation approach are enumerated, with particular reference to problems created in settings where partial approaches to IEP evaluation already have been implemented.     

Why Faculty Did—and Did Not—Integrate Instructional Software in Their Undergraduate Classrooms

Using a comparative case study approach, the researcher followed 13 instructors for 2 years as they attempted to integrate the Visible Human Dissector, an educational software program, into their undergraduate anatomy courses. Instructors were motivated to use the software as a supplement for limited educational resources and because of its ability to provide students with novel educational experiences. Obstacles in technology access and services as well as organizational factors prevented integration. However, personal hesitancy and lack of confidence, posited to be a major obstacle to integration in the literature, played only a minimal role in slow integration for these instructors. The greatest obstacles to changes in instruction supported by the new technology were difficulties in finding computers to run the software in traditional anatomy laboratories.Timothy Weston currently works as research associate for the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS), Institute Evaluation and Research Group at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He received the Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in Research and Evaluation Methodology in Education and a B.A. in Psychology from Metropolitan State University (1993). His interests include the evaluation of educational technology and the use of web-based assessment for formative course evaluation in undergraduate science.     

Closing the digital divide: evaluation of the World Links program

In response to this digital divide between developed and developing countries in their use of computers to prepare students for the global economy, the World Bank and, subsequently, the World Links organization provided schools in developing countries with networked computers and training that supports integration of ICT into teaching. This article synthesizes findings from 3 years of evaluative research on the program. The findings are based on surveys of teachers, students, administrators, and technology coordinators, as well as a field test assessment of student learning. The study examines the services provided, documents their impact, and draws implications for policy in developing countries.     

Measuring learning in serious games: a case study with structural assessment

The effectiveness of serious games is often measured with verbal assessment. As an alternative we propose Pathfinder structural assessment (defined as measuring the learners’ knowledge organization and compare this with a referent structure) which comprises three steps: knowledge elicitation, knowledge representation and knowledge evaluation. We discuss practical and theoretical considerations for the use of structural assessment and showcase its application with the game Code Red: Triage. Results suggest that structural assessment measures an individual’s understanding of a domain at least differently from verbal assessment. While verbal assessment may provide a more nuanced picture regarding declarative and procedural knowledge, structural assessment may add an in-depth understanding of the concepts that are regarded important in a domain. In the Discussion we propose four guidelines to effectively use structural assessment in serious games: (1) Determine the appropriateness of the domain for structural assessment, (2) select an appropriate referent for the target group(s), (3) select the number of concepts needed for structural assessment, and (4) consider the analysis of the graphical knowledge representations to obtain in-depth information about the quality of the knowledge structures.     

Use of computers for educational purposes at the Wageningen Agricultural University (WAU)

Abstract

University teachers are increasingly confronted with the necessity of using information technology for educational purposes. University policy in the nineties should therefor include stimulation of the use of computers and of the development of educational software. This policy should be based on an assessment of the present use of computers in teaching and learning, and needs of university teachers. At the Wageningen Agricultural University (WAU) this assessment was made through a questionnaire presented to all teachers. The results show that approximately 40% of the teachers use computers for educational purposes, 30% are interested and 30% are indifferent. The main computer applications are in the field of educational tools and exploratory environments. It is concluded that university policy on the introduction of computer use should acknowledge the importance of 1) teacher initiatives 2) exploring the possibilities of information technology, 3) material resources, 4) coordination of different initiatives and 5) a supporting centre with expertise on the use and development of computer applications for educational purposes.     

MAXIMIZING COMPUTER USE AMONG THE ELDERLY IN RURAL SENIOR CENTERS

Two prominent trends are simultaneously occurring in our society today: the aging of our population and an increased reliance on computers. Through a federal grant, Iowa Legal Aid provides computers in 85 rural senior citizen centers across Iowa to foster increased knowledge about program services for the elderly and to enhance their social connectedness with others through e-mail. To understand the attitudes of rural elderly toward computers, focus groups were held with two groups in the community senior centers. The results identified strategies that are necessary if seniors are to maximize the use of computers available to them. This article has three purposes: (1) to review the literature regarding computer usage among the elderly; (2) to describe the findings of focus groups held with elderly; and (3) to identify strategies to enhance computer use in senior citizen centers and maximize the connectivity of elders in their communities.     

美国教师培养项目增值评价探析 ——以路易斯安那州为例

世纪之交以来,美国教师培养面临内部质量提升和外部质量问责的双重压力.在此背景下,伴随数据系统和分析方法的发展以及教师增值评价的推广,教师培养项目的增值评价应运而生.教师培养项目增值评价基于教师培养项目→教师教学质量→学生学业成绩的因果逻辑,通过统计计量模型来评估教师培养项目对学生成绩的贡献度.其中项目效能的证据选择、效能测量以及效能增值结果的意义阐释构成教师培养项目增值评价的关键内容.教师培养项目增值评价虽然在一定程度上响应了公众对于强化教师教育绩效责任的呼声,但依然存在着信效度和适用范围等问题.     

Informatique Pour Tous: a case study of information technology in teacher education in France

ABSTRACT

The national program Informatique Pour Tous was announced in France in 1985. This paper describes a resulting training program conducted in French secondary schools, the assessment of this program, and conclusions that can be drawn from it in terms of contents for pre‐service and in‐service teacher training in the educational use of computers. In this article, after a short background on the French policy of computer equipment in schools, the objectives of the training program are presented. Then the activities of the teachers who were trained in this program are analyzed, on the one hand through information gathered during their annual meetings and on another hand through interviews with the heads of some of the teachers' schools. Requirements for training contents and practices in teacher education are developed.     

Constructing validity arguments for test combinations

The argument-based approach to validation has been widely adopted in validation theory. However, this approach aims to validate the intended interpretation and use of a single test or assessment. This article proposes an extension of the argument-based approach for validation of multiple tests. This extension is illustrated with the validation of a competency assessment program (CAP). This CAP was validated in collaboration with a quality manager of an educational program. In this case study, it became apparent that this approach fosters an in-depth evaluation of the assessment program and that the approach appears suitable for validation efforts of competency assessment programs. The approach guides validation research from a more general perspective, but also guides more detailed validation efforts.     

Attitudes of special education teachers towards using technology in inclusive classrooms: a mixed‐methods study

The purpose of this mixed‐methods study was to explore special education teachers’ attitudes towards using technology in inclusive classrooms in Oman. The sample consisted of 428 special education teachers working in Omani public schools (250 teachers of students with learning disabilities (LD), 90 teachers of students with intellectual disability and 88 teachers of students with hearing impairment). Participants responded to the attitudes towards computers questionnaire. For the qualitative section of this study, three semi‐structured group interviews were conducted with a group of special education teachers: 15 teachers of students with hearing impairment, 15 teachers of students with intellectual disabilities and 15 teachers of students with LD). Also, the teachers responded to a survey of educational technology which encompassed seven questions about computer technology. Results of the study indicated that the special education teachers’ attitudes towards using computers were generally positive. The most notable positive attitudes were in the following subscales: special education considerations, staff development considerations, computers use in society, and computers and quality of instruction issues. The analysis of variance results showed that experience and type of disability did not have a significant effect on teachers’ attitudes towards technology.     

School improvement plans and student learning in Jamaica

A school improvement program that provided support to poor-performing schools on the basis of needs identified in a school improvement plan was implemented in 72 government schools in Jamaica, from 1998 to 2005. In this independent evaluation of the program, we use propensity score matching to create, post hoc, a control group of schools that were similar to program schools in the baseline year. By the final year of the program, we find that program schools had received more inputs to improve literacy and numeracy than control schools, and that some inputs associated with the program were correlated with improvements school average achievement: supplementary reading materials, additional training for reading resource teachers, and functioning computers. At the student level, however, we find no evidence that students enrolled in program schools achieved higher reading or math scores than those in control schools. We suggest three possible reasons for this: (a) the lack of sensitivity of the learning measures to improvements at the lower end of the scales; (b) the availability of program-like inputs in non-program schools, provided by other programs and donors; and (c) the growth in student enrollment in the program schools, which may have diluted the program effect for incoming students in upper grades. Schools with school improvement plans did not outperform comparable schools that did not have these plans.     

Cultural‐competence considerations for contemporary school‐based threat assessment

Threat‐assessment procedures are advanced for their utility in reducing racial disparities in punitive and exclusionary school discipline outcomes. Generally unexamined, however, is bias in who gets referred for school‐based threat assessment and under what circumstances. Cultural‐competence considerations hold promise for addressing sources of bias in the evaluation of threats made in the school setting. Using a quantitative approach, this systematic literature review examines the degree to which contemporary cultural‐competence considerations are embedded in 24 school‐based threat‐assessment articles published between 2007 and 2017. Results indicate generally poor coverage of considerations for cultural competence both within and across threat‐assessment articles. An analysis of change in cultural‐competence considerations by year of publication suggests that more recently published threat‐assessment literature has generally not integrated concurrent advancements in concepts of cultural competence. Preliminary guidance for incorporating contemporary cultural‐competence considerations into school‐based threat‐assessment procedures are provided.     

People and Environment

Abstract

Recently, authentic assessments have been used extensively in the classroom setting; however, their use in informal settings, such as outdoor education centers, has been very limited. We review several classroom techniques and present examples that illustrate the use of authentic assessment at an ecology education center. We conclude with a discussion of general issues such as the correlation of learning objectives and program content, development and scoring, and other considerations associated with implementation of authentic assessment.     

Training Teachers to Use Computers in Third World Schools

ABSTRACT

This paper draws on research on the use of computers in Third World schools undertaken with the help of a grant from the Harold Macmillan Trust and the assistance of teachers and others in 23 Third World countries. In it we stress tfft importance of training all staff concerned in the introduction of computers into Third World schools, including the policy makers. We discuss training in the early days of introducing the innovation, and how a training cascade may or may not help. We examine the link between motivation to be trained and the prospect of leading change. We point out the virtues of teachers learning about computers in private and the need for software evaluation criteria for teachers to use. We look briefly at the links between training, the curriculum and assessment and at the training of programmers and technicians. We conclude that policy makers need to share with school principals, teachers, teacher educators and computer education specialists or consultants the task of reframing policy while reliable understanding of the state of the innovation emerges and the innovating group matures as a training resource in its own right     

Educational needs for multicultural hearing-impaired students in the public school system

This article provides information on the educational problems and needs of hearing-impaired students from three major multi-cultural groups, the Afro-American, Hispanic, and Asian. The focus is upon identification and programming for these needs within the public school system, based especially upon experience within the San Diego City Schools. The factors addressed include: demographic shifts and the dropout rate among these students, and cultural considerations for education. Specific educational considerations discussed include: assessment, programming, bilingual education, curriculum and instructional strategies, teacher-training and program models.     

网络技术下提高大学生英语听力的合作促学形成性评价方式的实证研究

大学生英语听说能力的提高是整个大学英语教学改革中的重点和难点。因此,改变传统的单一的终结性评价模式,建立新型的多样化的评价模式,将形成性评价用于语言教学的过程,不仅是让其作为评价的手段,而且是通过它达到促学的目的。在对理工科的非英语专业学生的英语听力教学上,将善于操作计算机和网络的优点和这种新的形成性评价方式结合起来,可以促进学生英语听说能力的提高,是教学改革方面的一个有益尝试。