May 1996 — Features

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The School Design Model at Brewster Academy: Technology Serving Teaching & Learning

DR. ALAN BAIN, Assistant Headmaster, Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro, N.H

Teacher, student and parent reactions after the first years were overwhelmingly positive, even though the stepwise approach to change has generated challenges associated with the concurrent operation of the "new" and "old" school.

The technological transformation has been remarkable and has changed the behavior of students and teachers. Electronic mail has transformed the way students and teachers communicate on campus. Students' technology skills have grown to a point where they possess skills in computer usage that would normally be consistent with college level and beyond.

A recently completed study which compared the technological growth of males and females in and out of the program indicated that the women who were in the program outperformed males who were not.[3] In addition, there was an encouraging narrowing of the gender difference in skill level of students within the program. This result was consistent with the expectation that if technology could truly become a tool analogous to a pencil or pen, then the basis for gender differences would diminish as the frequency and intensity of use overcomes any perceived or actual differences associated with gender–;based predispositions toward technology.

More generally, faculty have observed demonstrable improvement in self–;esteem and achievement, reflected in both standardized and curriculum–;based measures of academic and social growth.

BrewsterNet has become part of campus life after a tentative beginning in the first year. As previously described, bulletin boards for classwork, sports, movie reviews, chat, library information and CD access have made the network bulletin board part of the Brewster scene. Getting students to go to bed at "lights out" has become more challenging with the temptation of "after dark communication."

Most importantly, we are observing teachers taking advantage of the technology program. Desktop publication has become a feature of history classes; PowerPoint and LCD projection has become a more common presentation mode; and the use of spreadsheets and data bases are common in science classes. The growing experience and expertise of faculty and students is reflected in ever more frequent and innovative use, although there is still a long way to go to take full advantage of the potential. It is hard to imagine Brewster without a network, and even harder to understand why schools would increase their computer rations without the power of a network to facilitate widespread use.