May 1996 — Features

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Teacher Training: Helping to Construct the Information Highway

DR. O. W. KOPP, University of Nebraska, and DR. KAY E. FERGUSON, Space TREK Inst

Findings

The 14 teachers who were randomly selected from the 49 to remain for the second week, along with five master teachers, all worked with the 100 children in a sophisticated, integrated, technology-infused, hands-on curriculum. Excitement was high as teachers and children worked side by side, engaged in online research, telecommunications, micro-based lab construction and experiments, programming robots, eco-chemistry, remote-sensing imagery, Netscape and the World Wide Web, HyperStudio multimedia authoring, NASA satellite images and more.

Significant differences were found between the two groups in the:

  • Range of TREK activities transferred for use in the classroom since the inception of the Institute;
  • Degree to which TREK Institute has enhanced classroom teaching due to confidence instilled by the Institute;
  • Difference in confidence between Group A and Group B was found to be statistically significant (p.0025);[3] and
  • Data analysis revealed that the second week of TREK classes made a significant difference in the overall confidence of technology application in mathematics and science.

As indicated by Bhola at the close of the first week of the Institute, teachers indicated a high level of enthusiasm and reported dramatic positive impact from the experience, plus a high expectation of classroom applicability.[4,5] However, Group A, the group without the practical application of Phase 2, did not implement the technologies in the classroom to the extent of Group B, who worked with children. This study provides factors that need to be considered to further intervene for long-term change in science and mathematics teaching with technologies and integrated approaches.[6]

In the third year of the pilot project, a powerful component was added -- children.