eMINTS: High Quality Teaching Powered by Technology

1. eMINTS: High Quality Teaching Powered by Technology Introduction2009-2010

2. Acronym enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies • eMINTS4Utah • eMINTS/Maine Learning Technology Initiative • eMINTS in Nevada • eMINTS in Illinois • eMINTS in Arkansas • eMINTS in Alabama • eMINTS in Delaware • eMINTS in New Jersey • Is your state next?

3. Acronym • enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies • Grew from a pilot project (MINTs) in 6 St. Louis area districts, 1997-1998 • Partners: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MO DESE), Missouri Department of Higher Education (MO DHE) and the University of Missouri • eMINTS now is a National Center affiliated with the University of Missouri Office of Academic Affairs

4. Purpose The eMINTS National Center transforms education for all learners through high-quality teaching powered by technology. It serves as a resource center for schools and districts across the U.S. that wish to collaborate with eMINTS staff and with one another to replicate eMINTS in their educational systems – with the adaptations necessary to meet their local needs.

5. Goals • Higher levels of student performance • Quality parental involvement • Enriched instructional effectiveness

6. Additional eMINTS Programs • eMINTS also provides administrative oversight: • e-Learning for Educators – an online professional development program providing professional learning in many content areas. See: http://www.elearning.org

7. Demographics 2009 -2010 • 260 Missouri districts • 3,500 classrooms with 50,000+ students • Grades 3–12 • Middle & high school implementation began 2003 • 35% of Missouri eMINTS classrooms are district-funded • 10 Utah districts • 60 Maine districts • 2 Nevada districts • 1 Illinois district • 1 Arkansas district • 1 Alabama district • 1 Delaware district and 2 charter schools

8. What is eMINTS? • Carefully selected suite of hardware and software • Constructivist, inquiry-based instructional practices • Sustained, intensive professional development and classroom visits • Implementation by school-based teams • Rigorous external formative and summative evaluation

9. Equipment Official eMINTS classroom • Teacher laptop and workstation • SMART Board™ and projector • Scanner, printer and digital camera • Computer : Student ratio • One computer for every two students (grades 3-6) • One-to-one (laptops) preferred at middle and high school levels • Software limited to • Productivity tools (i.e.,Microsoft® Office®) • Concept mapping tool • Multimedia editing tool

10. High Quality TeachingPowered by Technology

11. Typical Teacher-centered Drill – electronic worksheets – WWW worksheets Reward – when “real” work is finished Integrated learning systems eMINTS Student-centered Environment for complex thinking Collaboration with others and authentic tasks Transforms student work beyond what used to be possible eMINTS use of technologyWhat’s different?

12. Innovation-Collaboration-Transformation

13. Typical Teacher-centered Focus on skill mastery Scope is text-based Subjects separated Assessment by tests eMINTS Student-centered Focus on comprehension Scope is standards-based Subjects integrated Assessment by a variety of projects eMINTS instructional modelWhat’s different?

14. eMINTS Quality Assurance: ISTE Seal of Alignment for High Quality Professional Development

15. Typical Fewer than 8 hours per year No in-classroom support Not easily related to current work OR overly prescriptive Inadequate tech infrastructure eMINTS Intensive 200+ hours over 2 years Paired with purposeful in-classroom support Closely related to daily teaching Teacher is decision-maker Technology-rich classroom eMINTS PD: What’s different?

16. Program components • Multiple professional development programs support implementation of eMINTS instructional model www.emints.org/programs • Original, primary program = eMINTS Comprehensive Professional Development for Teachers • Face-to-face program • Year 1 = 100 hours + 4 full days + 10-12 classroom visits • Year 2 = 75 hours + 2 full days + 10-12 classroom visits

17. Achieving significant change in student performance requires professional development programs that are: • Sustained – over 2 or more years • Intensive – at least 250 contact hours • Paired with in-classroom support and other structures to insure translation from PD sessions to classroom practice (for example, eThemes)

19. eMINTS PD provided by • eMINTS staff members (in Missouri) OR • Certified eMINTS instructional specialists (in Missouri or national) • As participants in train-the-trainer program (PD4ETS) • Certified graduates of the program • Use eMINTS materials and methods

20. How does it work?What does the teacher do? • eMINTS teachers commit to extensive professional development and preparation time: • Setting up projects and developing WebQuests • Planning very different teaching strategies and aligning them to the curriculum so students meet district and state standards • Preparing students to work in cooperative groups

21. eMINTS teachers create/maintain a high-quality classroom website and/or internal webpages • Teachers take turns preparing webpages and sharing content and processes with each other • eMINTS teachers report less time is spent teaching “tech skills” to students than you might think – approximately 2-3 weeks at the beginning of the year for 4th graders

22. What do students do? • Direct their own learning with gentle guidance from the teacher • Become more responsible for completing work because they have a say in what they are working on • Use computers and the Internet to create a new learning environment in their classrooms • Devote more time to reading for information and scanning for answers – becoming better readers who comprehend more

23. Increased collaboration between teachers and students generates excitement about what has been learned and how to make it all work • Preparing students for the future – technology literacy and how to solve problems • Less use of textbooks – saves money, expands resources available to students

24. Students learn to work together and to stay on task because they are so interested in what they are doing • Takes time to build a community of learners in the classroom, but then students take responsibility • Students are not playing games – they are enjoying their learning so much that they actually work more and thus learn more without really knowing it

25. eMINTS in grades 3-12

26. Why? So what? • Six years of extensive data collection and analysis show statistically significant differences for 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students in eMINTS classrooms when compared to students not enrolled in eMINTS classrooms on the Missouri state-wide assessments of reading and mathematics.

27. Test results show that, on most state tests, students enrolled in eMINTS classrooms scored higher than students enrolled in non-eMINTS classrooms. • eMINTS4Utah replication shows same results for students in grades 4-8 on reading, mathematics and science assessments.

28. Performance of subgroups • Low-income and special education students in eMINTS classes generally score higher than their non-eMINTS peers. • Enrollment in an eMINTS classroom reduces the deficit for low-income students by about 45%. • Enrollment in an eMINTS classroom reduces the overall difference for special education students by 53%.

29. Higher levels of performance for students in subgroups: low income and special education

30. From an eMINTS teacher “If I had to sum up what we went through with getting into eMINTS, it would be extensive training, really neat tech tools, collaboration, and teamwork with fellow teachers and students. Even though I have always taught using lots of manipulatives and hands-on techniques, eMINTS has dramatically changed how I teach and how my students learn. For me, it has helped keep me excited about teaching.”Ruth Petsel, 2000-2002 eMINTS, Arcadia Valley R-2, MO

31. eMINTS National Center www.emints.org (573) 884-7202 325 Clark Hall Columbia, MO 65211 emints-info@emints.org Experience Unlimited Possibilities for Learning