May+10th+2010+Week

1) The University of Chicago will be sending 9 researchers to our district.
=== 2) From the schedules that you have provided, 60-70 teachers will be randomly selected for an observation and interview. The interview will be conducted at a time that is convenient for the teacher, and should last about 20 to 30 minutes. The interview may be in person (preferred) or by telephone. We will post the schedule on the study wiki as soon as we can. We think this may occur early next week . The observations will only document what teachers are doing, it is not an assessment or evaluation of your teaching. I would like to directly quote what one of the researchers wrote me. “ The purpose of the study is to document how teachers are using Science Companion in the real world, to guide future development to better match teacher and student needs. Some teachers worry that we’re assessing….if they are following directions “word for word”. We are not doing this.” === === 3) Three of the researchers will also conduct “School Leader Interviews”. These could be with the principal or if the principal prefers, it could be done with the teacher in the building that is most familiar with Science Companion. ===

4) If multiple observations are to occur at a particular school, every effort will be made to schedule these for just one day, to minimize interruptions.
=== 5) Principals and teachers will be asked to answer an online survey about Science Companion. The Principal Survey is called “The School Leader Survey”, the teachers surveys are called “The Teacher Attitude Survey” and “The Teacher Instruction Survey”. The online surveys should take about 20 minutes to complete. These surveys will be accessible through pages on the “CB and Science Companion Study Wiki”. http://cbsc-study.wikispaces.com/===