Changing the Face of Education in Missouri

Changing the Face of Education in Missouri

by Monica Beglau

Using technology to create classroom learning experiences that engage young learners in new ways is at the heart of the eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) program. This program is changing the face of education across the state. The goal of the program is to support Missouri educators as they integrate multimedia technology into inquiry-based, student-centered, interdisciplinary, collaborative teaching practices that result in improved student performance, increased parent involvement and enriched instructional effectiveness.
Beginnings
eMINTS was born out of a 1997 demonstration project called MINTs (Missouri Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies). Mints sought to show the impact a technologically rich networked classroom could have on educational practice and student achievement. Thirteen Mints classrooms were installed in fourth, fifth and sixth grade classrooms in six school districts in St. Louis County, Missouri. Four of the six schools served a predominantly African American student body. In four of the six schools the majority of students participated in the Free and Reduced Lunch program. Evaluation conducted in the spring of 1999 by an independent evaluation team from OSEDA (Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis) documented important changes in student achievement at all grade levels. For a full report on the Mints project, please see http://emints.more.net/evaluation/reports/mints_report.html.

Based on early research findings about the improved student achievement found in the Mints classrooms, eMINTS was inaugurated in 88 third and fourth grade classrooms in 44 school districts across the state in fall 1999.
The eMINTS Revolution
Since 1999 eMINTS classrooms have been added across the state using a combination of local, state and federal funds. MOREnet (Missouri Research and Education Network) administers eMINTS under a contract from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). MOREnet provides Internet connectivity, access to Internet2, technical support, video conferencing services and training to Missouri's K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, health care, state government and other affiliates. (http://www.more.net).
Currently there are 585 eMINTS classrooms in grades 3-12 in rural, suburban and urban settings throughout Missouri. Over 15,000 children and teachers report to eMINTS classrooms every morning. When they reach those classrooms they find a rich array of multimedia learning technologies, including:
Teacher laptopInteractive whiteboard and projectorTeacher workstation computerDigital camera and scannerPrintersOne Internet-connected computer for every two studentsSoftware limited to Microsoft Office and Inspiration
However, what these teachers and students DO with the technology is the big story. The instructional model promoted and supported by eMINTS is inquiry-based, collaborative and multidisciplinary in nature. Teachers must often learn to teach in very different ways from those they learned and have practiced over the years.
eMINTS Professional Development Support System
Helping teachers learn new teaching strategies using multimedia technologies requires a significant professional development support program. Each teacher in the program receives over 250 hours of professional development over a two-year period. These hours occur mainly after school; districts compensate teachers for their out-of-contract time.
Professional development sessions are followed up by in-classroom visits and support from a highly qualified instructional specialist who lives in the teacher's geographic area. This high level of "just in time" support has transformed the teaching practices of hundreds of teachers across the state by giving them the confidence, knowledge and skills to teach in a whole new way. For a peek into an eMINTS classroom, explore one of the videos available at http://emints.more.net/about/.
Results
eMINTS has produced outstanding results in these Missouri classrooms. In addition to anecdotal evidence reported by participating teachers and principals, the program continues to support external evaluation by the OSEDA evaluation team to substantiate changes in teaching practices, changes in student attitudes and, in the age of increasing accountability, changes in student performance on statewide tests. For full copies of all eMINTS evaluation reports, please go to: http://emints.more.net/evaluation/reports/. The eMINTS program evaluation has been recognized as meeting the requirements for "Scientifically-Based Research" outlined in No Child Left Behind legislation.
One of the first reports completed by the evaluation team is called "Typology of eMINTS Lessons." In this report, published in November 2001, four general classes of lessons were identified: teacher centered, student-centered facilitated, student-centered unfacilitated and hybrid. The main contrast is between teacher-centered lessons and student-centered, facilitated lessons. Teacher-centered lessons are traditional lecture-type lessons, where the teacher controls the content and conduct of the lesson.
Student-centered facilitated lessons are the interdisciplinary, project-based and constructivist lessons envisioned by the eMINTS program. This report describes a general typology of instruction based on two years of observations in FY00 eMINTS classrooms. The observations, which serve as the empirical basis for the typology, were conducted during site visits made by the OSEDA team in two waves, between March 1 and May 20, 2000 and between November 11, 2000 and April 18, 2001. During each lesson, researchers observed teachers' interaction with students, their use of computers and their general conduct of the lesson
The newest report, "Leadership Orientations of FY00 Principals," focuses on a classification of eMINTS principals according to their leadership orientation. The OSEDA team members conducted school visits during the 1999-2000 and the 2000-2001 school years. On-site visits, including interviews with the principals and the eMINTS classroom teachers, resulted in the development of a report describing four general leadership orientations among FY00 principals and their effects on collaborative teaching and learning styles.
Another important report, "Analysis of 2001 MAP Results for eMINTS Students," documents the impact of eMINTS on statewide, required assessment of student performance. The MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) begins in grade three with assessments of communication arts and science. The fourth grade assessments focus on mathematics and social studies. The analysis of MAP scores for students in eMINTS classrooms in the spring of 2001 showed that, on average, students in eMINTS classes scored higher in every subject area than other students. The analysis compared 1,836 students enrolled in eMINTS classes with 4,217 students not enrolled in eMINTS classes in the same grades and schools. In every subject area, students enrolled in third and fourth grade eMINTS classes scored higher than students not enrolled in eMINTS classes. In addition, the average eMINTS student scored higher than the statewide student average in every subject area.
What Others Can Learn
The lessons learned by the eMINTS program leadership team may be of benefit to others interested in implementing similarly structured programs, whether on a local, regional or statewide basis. These lessons are the result of synthesizing the formal evaluation reports with five years of experience in implementation.
Sufficient resources must be devoted to genuine program evaluation. Both formative and summative measures are needed to provide guidance about program implementation and to justify program results.
The importance of sustained intensive professional development that creates strong learning communities resulting in a supportive and collegial group of educators cannot be overestimated. Sustained means at least two full years and intensive means over 250 hours.
A professional development program capable of producing the degree of change observed in the eMINTS program must have a coherent and consistent scope and sequence. If offered in more than one setting or to multiple groups of educators, a solid infrastructure for communication and support must be built for the professional development specialists delivering the content.
Classroom visits that help teachers translate professional development concepts into actual practice are critical components of change. Teachers need at least one classroom visit per month to achieve significant changes in teaching and to incorporate newly learned technology skills.
Principals must be collaborative leaders. Those who include teachers in meaningful decision-making, explicitly create time for teachers to collaborate with one another and develop school climates where risk-taking is encouraged and supported realize the greatest gains in student achievement.
Technology in and of itself is a necessary but not sufficient ingredient in creating changes in teaching practices that result in improved student performance.
Teachers must be compensated and respected for their out-of-contract time spent in professional development activities.
Program administrators must truly listen to what teachers and principals tell them about the needs of learners in their locale and model collaborative decision-making for these educators.
Above all, the implementation of a program on the scale of eMINTS requires leadership with a high tolerance for ambiguity, staff who are committed to providing whatever is needed to truly support educators in the change process and a program evaluation system that is skilled in both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the learning endeavor.
About the Author and eMINTS:
Monica Beglau has served as the eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) Instructional Program Leader for MOREnet since 2000. MOREnet is part of the University of Missouri System and provides Internet connectivity, training and technical support to the state's K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, state government, teaching hospitals and clinics and other affiliates. eMINTS is administered by MOREnet under contract from Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Beglau's roots lie in public education and the elementary school setting. She was a special educator for 11 years and an elementary principal for seven years in the Cheyenne, Wyoming school district. She served as the Executive Director of the Wyoming School - University Partnership and of the MU Partnership for Educational Renewal prior to joining MOREnet. She holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in the University of Missouri - Columbia's College of Education.
Beglau holds a B.A. in Special Education from the University of Northern Colorado and an M.A. and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Wyoming. She has taught graduate courses and co-instructed an online course for teachers who mentor colleagues new to inquiry-based teaching in technology-rich classrooms. She has received several awards for her work as an elementary principal and university administrator. She holds current certifications as a special education teacher, K-12 principal and superintendent in Wyoming.
To contact the author:
Monica M. Beglau, Ed.D.eMINTS Instructional Program LeaderMOREnet (Missouri Research & Education Network)http://www.more.net3212 LeMone Industrial BlvdColumbia, Mo 65201