Hi Lisa

A really interesting project that sent me to your poster and piqued my curiosity. Could you describe your boost sessions and how they complement the summer weeks and (I am presuming here!) teaching the curriculum? Also, what is the nature of the online component of your pd? Finally, do teachers choose one of the three modules or they typically use more than one? Thanks. Sally

Sally,

Thanks for taking the time to look at E4Tech.  The Boost sessions are really designed to help teachers experience the technology used (Scratch, Breadboard/Arduino, and makeblock mBots) outside of the curriculum which is the focus of the summer.  We wanted to be sure we had time to work with teachers to build background knowledge and ask questions without the additional layer of the curriculum, which we felt might be too much to try to do in the summer experience.  The same resources (Scratch, Breadboards, mBots) are used within the curriculum, so this was a nice way to have teachers have some initial experiences with those components.  We have tried a few different platforms for online and are using that to stay connected to teachers during the implementation phase (we also have face to face sessions).  This has been helpful in getting feedback and keeping conversations going.  Right now, we have teachers doing all three modules.  We did have one group of teachers who only did one module, so we are hoping that we can compare student understanding when exposed to one module versus all three.  Great questions--let us know if you have more!

Ben,

Thanks for the questions!  Right now, the three modules take around 30-40 hours.  There are typically 10 lessons in a module.  We are also looking at the implementation of once a week vs. as a unit. Since the modules are a cohesive set of lessons centered around rich mathematical thinking, we like the unit idea-but also like the flexibility that it has.  We are hoping that the research we are doing highlights student achievement in both models.  The modules right now are in-house until we make some final edits and look at final research results for the current cohort of teachers.  However, we did create a "mini-module" to showcase E4Tech as part of #CSEdWeek.  You can access those here:  CUTOUT4CS

Ben,

Our first year focuses on Number and Operations in Base Ten and Area/Perimeter.  While the mid-point results are encouraging (over 70% of items showed gains) we are still being cautious until we have pre/post data.  We have attitude surveys for both teachers and students, and will be excited to share those as well.

Brittany,

Thanks for the question.  Modules 1 and 3 are definitely focused on mathematics and Module 2 (circuits) was more geared towards science content.  We certainly have had conversations about how we pull this idea into other content areas.  With the design of the modules, they definitely have the potential for us to think about a very integrated unit with multiple areas.  We haven't done that quite yet since our current focus is on the mathematics piece, but we have big plans!  

Kip,

Thanks for the comment and question. In Year 1 our current format is:  4 Boost Sessions (32 hours); 10 day summer PD (80hours) and online (8 hours).  This is followed by Year 2:  4 face to face sessions (32 hours), classroom implementation (40 hours), online (32 hours) and a 2-day summer (16 hours).  The current student assessment is based on NAEP items which we used to create two equivalent forms (pre/post).  

Jennie,

We are so excited for the results as well and share our lessons.  As we move forward with the project, I think we will want to do exactly what you are saying.  While we are fairly early in the study, we are trying not to jump too quickly before we have results to base some decisions--but definitely something to think about.  

Barbara,

I so agree!  Often, during implementation teachers are on their own, so we are very strategic during this phase of the project to offer support.  It's also one of our favorite parts as they are sharing so many photos and stories of students in action.

Kelli