eMINTS: High Quality Teaching Powered by Technology

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eMINTS High Quality Teaching Powered by
Technology

• Introduction2007-2008

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Acronym

• enhancing Missouris Instructional Networked
  Teaching Strategies
• eMINTS4Utah
• eMINTS/Maine Learning Technology Initiative
• eMINTS in Nevada
• eMINTS in Illinois
• eMINTS in Arkansas
• eMINTS in Alabama
• Is your state next?

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Acronym

• enhancing Missouris 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

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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.

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Goals

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

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Demographics 2007-2008

• 244 Missouri districts
• 1,500 classrooms with 32,000 students
• Grades 312
• 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
• Alabama (new in 2007-2008)

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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

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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
• Microsoft Office (productivity tools)
• Concept mapping tool
• Multimedia editing tool

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High Quality TeachingPowered by Technology
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eMINTS use of technologyWhats different?

• 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

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Innovation-Collaboration-Transformation
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eMINTS instructional modelWhats different?

• 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

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eMINTS Quality Assurance ISTE Seal of Alignment
for High Quality Professional Development
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eMINTS PD Whats different?

• 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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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• 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

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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

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• 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

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• 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

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eMINTS in grades 3-12
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Why? So what?

• Five years of extensive data collection and
  analysis show statistically significant
  differences for 3rd and 4th grade students in
  eMINTS classrooms when compared to students not
  enrolled in eMINTS classrooms on the Missouri
  state-wide assessments of reading and mathematics.

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• Test results show that, on most state tests,
  students enrolled in eMINTS classrooms scored
  higher than students enrolled in non-eMINTS
  classrooms. eMINTS4Utah includes students in
  grades 4-8.

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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.

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

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eMINTS National Center

• www.emints.org
• [phone]
• 103 London Hall
• Columbia, MO 65211
• emints-info_at_emints.org

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