Effective Access: Using Digital Libraries to Enhance High School Teaching in STEM

Education Development Center, Waltham MA

Investigators

Abstract

This NSDL Targeted Research project is studying the use of networked digital resources by secondary school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers as they seek and select quality materials and tailor them to fit the learning environment of their classroom. Areas of interest include: characterizing the use of digital resources for preparing lessons and for incorporating materials directly into student projects; and investigating types of software tools, lesson templates, and support that enable teachers to integrate digital library resources into general classroom settings. A combination of surveys, interviews, and observations are being employed, and the results are informing a general framework for the identification of specific services and tools for the broad audience of secondary school STEM teachers.