Study+Overview



Dear Central Bucks Teacher:
Your school district has agreed to be part of a collaborative study with the Chicago Science Group (the developers of //Science Companion//), and researchers at the University of Chicago. The purpose of the research is to gather information on teachers’ use of Science Companion in general, and on their use of technology in association with the //Science Companion// program. The findings from the study will provide the program developers with information about the elements of the program that teachers use, and on where teachers adapt and supplement the program with technology and other materials. They will use this information to shape future versions of the program and to inform the design of professional development for teachers using the program now and in the future. The long-term goal is to help the Science Companion program best meet the needs of teachers and students.

The study will begin in September, 2009 and continue for two years until August, 2011. All 15 schools in Central Bucks will participate in the study. The expectations for participation for all Central Bucks teachers in the first year includes:

...........(**Time?...about 10-15 minutes per lesson - 4 lessons for each semester**)
 * Completion of an teacher attitude survey in the Fall of 09 and the Spring of 10. (**Time?...About 10-15 minutes, online**)
 * Completion of an teacher instructional survey in the Fall of 09 and the Spring of 10. (**Time?...about 15 minutes, online**)
 * Completion of 4 instructional logs in September/October, 2009 and again in March/April 2010 (1 log/class session)
 * Completion of teacher instructional survey about Everyday Mathematics in March, 2010 (**Time?...about 10-15 minutes, online**)
 * Grades 3 through 6 teachers will administer a student attitude survey to their students during the spring of 2010. (**Time?...about 20-30 minutes**)

In addition to the data collection above, we will also randomly select 10 teachers from each grade level across the district to participate in additional data collection. These teachers will be observed two times during the first year – once in the fall and once in the spring – and also participate in an interview near the day of the observation.

Finally, teachers may expect to be asked to participate in one focus group in their schools (usually 4-8 teachers from the entire school) during each data collection period. You also may be interested to know that school leaders in each school will also be completing questionnaires.

If you have any questions about the study or the data collection, please don’t hesitate to contact Jeanne Century at the University of Chicago at jcentury@uchicago.edu or George Mehler at gmehler@cbsd.org. = = 