Johns Hopkins University proposes to analyze data collected in a national survey of instructional uses of school computers. The data were collected in a survey, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education, of 2,336 schools involving mailed questionnaires to principals and up to seven teachers per school, selected according to subject matter and computer use. The study provides important descriptive and analytical data for understanding and improving how U. S. secondary schools spend scarce resources on computers for instructional uses. The analyses that form the basis of this proposal consist of a series of reports to be produced over a 12 month period. Report topics are directly related to secondary mathematics, science, and computer education. Specific report topics include: basic descriptive data on instructional uses of school computers; differences in access, use, and perceived impact among different categories of students (i.e., male/female and above-average, average, and below-average achieving students); use of computers in mathematics classes to teach algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analysis, general math, and statistics and probability; courses in computer programming; and, a summary and interpretation of trends, problems, and opportunities for using computers in secondary school mathematics, science and computer education.
