May 2004 — Exclusive Series: SBR

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Making the Case: Research Efforts on Educational Technology

By John Bailey

It will seek to demonstrate that scientifically based teacher training on best practices using technology must be causally linked to the implementation of those practices in the classroom in order for the impact to be observed in student achievement in math and reading. This multiagency, statewide field-research effort will focus on reading and mathematics instructional practice in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades in 150 public school districts, including 43 high-need districts as defined by the NCLB Act. The project will yield a research model for identifying and scaling up teacher training on best practices.

Maine Department of Education
The Impact of Teachers' Professional Development on the Mathematics Achievement of Low-Performing Rural Students in Technology-Rich Classrooms
$1.9 million over three years
Online: www.state.me.us/education
The Maine evaluation uses an experimental design with randomized assignment of schools to investigate the impact of intensive, multifaceted professional development on teacher classroom practices, as well as the impact of student and teacher use of technology to enhance mathematics learning and student mathematics achievement. The study will focus on seventh- and eighth-grade students in schools that serve low-income rural communities and that have shown low performance in eighth-grade mathematics. The study promises to contribute to the research-based knowledge of effective practices in mathematics education and technology integration, ubiquitous computing, professional development, and education in low-income rural schools.

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
LANCET: Looking at North Carolina Educational Technology
$1.5 million over three years
Online: www.ncpublicschools.org/news/03-04/103103.1.html
The LANCET project will use experimental, quasi-experimental and case study designs to study the implementation of the state's IMPACT professional development model, as well as its effects on schools, teaching practices and student achievement. The project will develop and assess strategies for building the capacity for educators statewide to collect, analyze and use evaluation data for making decisions about technology programs, projects and practices. It will also disseminate the strategies, methods, instruments and protocols used in and resulting from the project.

Pennsylvania Department of Education
Evaluation of Student and Parent Access Through Recycled Computers (eSPARC)
$1.8 million over three years
Online: www.pde.state.pa.us/ed_tech/cwp/view.asp?Q=100397&A=169
The eSPARC study project seeks to develop and test an evaluation model that can be used by local and state education agencies to measure the impact of educational technology initiatives. The project will randomly assign recycled computers to a sample of 400 fifth-grade students and their families. The study will then assess whether and how in-home computer and Internet access impact students and patents. The study will also produce and disseminate research methods and tools that can be used to measure the impact of technology initiatives across program areas.