July 2007 — Case Studies
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Curriculum-Based Reform :: Missouri
The eMINTS program gives students and teachers access to advanced technology: interactive whiteboards and projectors, teacher laptops, digital cameras, printers, and at least one computer for every two students (though 1-to-1 is recommended for schools that can make it work with the budget provided). Software is limited to productivity tools such as concept-mapping and video-editing software. Participating teachers must complete two years of intensive professional development to equip them to use the technology in inquirybased instruction that addresses local and state standards.
While formal data regarding the performance of eMINTS students on statewide tests is not yet available for high school and middle school grade levels, six years of evaluation data on the program’s impact at the elementary level shows considerable promise. Results from Missouri Assessment Program testing consistently demonstrate that students in elementary school eMINTS classrooms outperform their non-eMINTS peers in all content areas tested: communication arts, mathematics, science, and social studies (see charts, previous page and above right).
4th-Grade Mathematics
Non-eMINTS Students vs. eMINTS Students
Students scoring “proficient” and “advanced”
on MIssouri Assessment
Program testing.
Based on a total of 283 teachers and 5,729 students.
[blue = Non-eMINTS Students; green = eMINTS Students]
Similar outcomes have been recorded in four Utah districts that replicated the eMINTS program in 2003. And informal studies have shown that students in eMINTS classrooms have higher rates of attendance than their non-eMINTS peers.
The program’s professional development methods focus on the eMINTS instructional model, which ties high-quality lesson design to inquiry-based learning and is situated in a community of learners with ubiquitous access to rich technology resources. Teachers in the program participate in more than 200 hours of professional development during the two years it takes to complete the program. Monthly classroom visits from the specialist providing their training helps teachers translate what they are learning in professional development sessions to their own classrooms.
Professional development and classroom visits are delivered by eMINTS staff members in Missouri, but may also be conducted by school or district personnel who are participants in or have completed the eMINTS “train-the-trainer” program, which was developed by the eMINTS National Center to facilitate scaling the program’s professional development across Missouri and the rest of the nation. More than 100 certified instructional specialists who are graduates of the train-the-trainer program currently provide eMINTS professional development to teachers in Missouri, Utah, Maine, Illinois, Arkansas, and Nevada. More than 350 schools enroll 22,500 students in eMINTS classrooms across those six states.
