Integrating science, mathematics, and technology in middle school technology-rich environments: A study of implementation and change

School Science and Mathematics, Jan 2000 by James, Robert K, Lamb, Charles E, Bailey, Melynda A, Householder, Daniel L

In comparing the changes in the concerns of teachers across Years I and 2, the partial resolution of informational, personal, and management concerns suggests that GTECH goals were being met in the three areas. However, informational and personal concerns remained high and needed further intervention. Consequence and collaboration concerns were almost unchanged, while refocusing concerns were higher in Year 2. The increase in the refocusing concerns suggests that teachers were thinking about alternatives to GTECH or different ways to configure it.

Workshops were conducted for the participating teachers and administrators each academic year and summer session. While participation was voluntary, it was highly enthusiastic. Workshop assessments were conducted at the end of each session. The primary goal of these assessments was to gain insight into how the teachers had reacted to the training sessions. They provided "happiness quotients," showing considerable teacher satisfaction. The teachers appreciated both the content and the process of each workshop. They especially liked the hands-on activities and the opportunity to share what they were doing. These assessments also provided input to future programs whether they wanted deeper content in an area that had just been presented or whether some new topic should be added to the next workshop or institute. The staff relied heavily on these assessments for program planning.

The usual format for these assessments was to list workshop activities with a rating scale of I to 10 in which I was the lowest rating and 10 was the highest possible rating. Participants' ratings were high. Usefulness ratings ranged from a mean of 7.7 for a training activity on an electronic bulletin board to an overall mean rating of 9.9 for the entire workshop. Effectiveness ratings ranged from a mean of 8.0 for one session to an overall mean rating of 9.8 for the entire workshop. In general, comments about the workshop, as well as written evaluations, showed participants were enthusiastic about what they had been doing. During the second summer workshop, participant assessments paralleled those obtained from the first summer workshop.

Reflections

The GTECH Project was funded to develop a strategy for helping middle school science, technology, and mathematics teachers implement integrated curriculum in the three disciplines and to utilize electronic educational technology. Seven GTECH teacher teams have developed 16 integrated units, developed skills using HyperStudio 3.0 and Microsoft PowerPoint(TM) software to design instruction, and developed awareness of the potential for telecommunications. They also designed new courses in which they can implement GTECH materials and constructs, identified instructional resources onthe Internet, linked instruction to state standards, and focused teacher attention on the need to give equal emphasis to the integration of mathematics in integrated units.

However, these accomplishments do not adequately reflect changes that the teacher teams have achieved in terms of their personal and professional growth in utilizing integrated curriculum and implementing electronic technology in their classrooms. Many teachers, who started by learning how to turn the computer on, are now utilizing computer and telecommunications technology weekly in their classrooms, and one has become the educational technology director for her school.