Planning a Research Program to Study How to Improve the Effectiveness of Using Telecommunications to Teach Science

Cord, Waco TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project will lay the groundwork for a methodologically rigorous five-year study that on ways to improve the use of telecommunications in the teaching of high school. During this phase, the project will look at variables that enhance the effectiveness of telecommunication technologies in teaching and learning science. The project will also identify or plan a psychometrically sound measure of student learning achievement in accordance with 2061tms science standards. On that basis, the project will design one or more appropriate professional development interventions and an experimental design on to determine their effectiveness in enhancing student achievement in science. Teachers, by and large, are unprepared to create effective technology-rich learning environments. The five-year study will focus on how professional development and other interventions help teachers improve their ability to evaluate and integrate telecommunication tools and related curriculum and instructional materials into effective science instruction in secondary science. Student achievement will be measured against national science education standards (American Association for the Advancement of Science 1993; National Research Council 1996). schools.