In this three-year project, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) seeks to identify a core set of models for evaluating the effects of technology integration in the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The purpose of the study is to determine if a new approach to evaluating educational technology, based on a refined set of typical models for how educational technology is actually used, can yield better measurement of the effectiveness of technology applications. The study will identify scientifically testable models by studying samples of technology integration project designs. The identified evaluation models will be refined, in part through a structured symposium with experts on technology integration and research methodologists. Overall, the study will develop capacity in the research and evaluation community, and in state and local education agencies, to plan and evaluate educational technology implementations.
Technology integration is a widespread priority in the nation's school systems, yet little is known systematically about the impact of technology integration on teaching and learning. The study will identify the theories and assumed causal mechanisms that underlie current technology integration efforts, and clarify existing hypotheses about the effects of technology integration on student achievement. These will be clustered and refined to derive a small set of common or prototypical models that are scientifically testable and that account for a large number of current technology integration efforts. The models derived in this way will clarify the various purposes for which technology is applied in math and science education, and will serve as a basis for more clearly conceived project designs and rigorous evaluations.
Broader Impact:
Technology integration projects are increasingly used to address the needs of underrepresented minority groups and difficult to reach populations. This research will focus on identifying prototypes for projects that serve rural, isolated populations, as well as indigenous Native American, Native Alaskan, and language minority students, and the faculty and administrators who work in these areas. The study aims to improve the state of educational technology implementation and research, by improving project design and evaluation for federal, state, and locally sponsored projects. Findings from the study may generalize beyond projects that are aimed at underrepresented groups, either directly through application of the specific evaluation models generated here, or indirectly, by serving as an example of how to distill a group of project designs into a refined set of prototypical, testable models.
