Evaluation of GirlTECH:

Outcomes and elements for success

Julie Foertsch & Baine B. Alexander LEAD Center, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

foertsch@engr.wisc.edu
baine@engr.wisc.edu
http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~lead

Methodology || Immediate Outcomes || Long-term Outcomes || Value Ratings || Guidelines

Methodology of the evaluation:

The LEAD Center's evaluation focused on the experiences of participants from the first three years of the GirlTECH workshop (1995-97).
From the 57 teachers who were in the workshop during these three years, 4 participated in a focus group of master teachers, 8 were interviewed individually by phone, and 21 completed a survey (3 of whom had also been interviewed).
The teachers who provided feedback on the workshop were representative of the total population of participants in terms of the level of school and the subject areas in which they taught. However, there were proportionally fewer men and proportionally fewer minorities than in the total workshop population.
The main methods for collecting data about participants' experiences and the impact of the GirlTECH workshop were interviews and surveys with participants, examinations of participants' pre-workshop and post-workshop Internet knowledge test scores, and analyses of GirlTECH list serve communications between workshop participants and administrators.

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Immediate outcomes of the GirlTECH workshop:

their Internet searching and programming skills,
their awareness of the field of computational science, and
their understanding of how issues of gender and ethnicity effect computational science.

When asked to rate their satisfaction with the workshop on a 4-point scale, 84% of survey respondents gave it the highest rating of "extremely satisfied" and the remaining 16% gave it the second-highest rating of "satisfied."

All of the interviewees and focus group participants spoke highly of the workshop and the value of the Internet training they received there, though some felt the workshop should be longer or that it should place more emphasis on integrating pre-existing Internet materials into the curriculum.

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Long-term outcomes of GirlTECH:

1. More-varied and more frequent use of computers as instructional tools.

While many participants were already using computers in their classrooms before the workshop, computer use after the workshop became more varied and more frequent:

Changes in how participants used computers in the classroom

Uses of computers in educational settings	Before	After	Change
Used for writing/word processing	18	21	+3
Used as an instructional tool	18	20	+2
Communicated with colleagues	14	21	+7
Prepared lesson plans	13	17	+4
Used for bookkeeping	10	13	+3
Found lesson plans/ideas on the Internet	9	17	+8
Found info about teacher enhancement programs/grants	5	17	+12
Other	5	9	+4
Never used/minimally used a computer	1	0	-1

Changes in frequency of use of computers as instructional tools.

How frequently computers are used as instructional tools	Before	After	Change
Less than once per month	3	0	-3
Once per month	2	1	-1
Once every two weeks	2	0	-2
Once a week	1	0	-1
2-3 times a week	2	3	+1
Almost daily	10	16	+6

2. Considerable success in achieving the objectives of computer-based instruction

Degree to which participants achieved the objectives of the computer-based instruction in their courses

Objectives to be achieved	achieved or made good progress	still a major barrier	Mean rating*
Motivating students during activities/instruction	100%	0%	1.33
Keeping students on task and engaged in assigned activity	100%	0%	1.39
Ensuring equitable computer access between students	89%	6%	1.56
Giving students a sense of competence and achievement	95%	0%	1.63
Integrating network activities into the curriculum	61%	6%	2.00
Finding age-appropriate instructional materials	68%	0%	2.11
Having sufficient time to complete activities during classes	58%	17%	2.44
Finding enough time to prepare activities	33%	33%	2.80

*Rating scale: 1=achieved the objective, 2=made good progress, 3=made some progress, 4=still a major barrier

3. Effects on participants' schools.

About a quarter of the participants reported having a tangible impact on the technological acceptance and knowledge of teachers in their school or on their school's commitment to technology. These effects included:

two teachers who gave in-service workshops on how to use the Internet to other teachers in their school,
a teacher who was hired as the technical support specialist for her school,
several teachers who presented at district or state-wide conferences on their experiences integrating the Internet into their curricula,
several teachers who were helping their school districts write grants to get more computers and better access to the Internet,
several teachers who had been tutoring or offering technical support to their colleagues in their spare time.

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Participants' value ratings of various aspects of GirlTECH

Aspects of the workshop	Mean rating of value*
Internet/network training	1.11
Receiving an email address at Rice University	1.17
Email discussion group with other participants	1.39
The leverage provided by the connection with Rice	1.41
Web production training	1.44
Working/meeting other teachers	1.50
Technical assistance by Rice staff	1.56
Talks by Dr. Tapia about gender/ethnicity issues	2.47
Talks by industry people	2.78
Talks by graduate students	3.00

*Value scale: 1= extremely valuable, 2=valuable, 3=somewhat valuable, 4=not valuable

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Seven guidelines for a successful K-12 teacher enhancement program
on Internet-based instruction and computational science awareness:

Technological skills are best learned through "hands-on" collaborative activities.
Immersion in the subject matter over several weeks is needed in order to make significant advances in one's technological skills.
Attention must be given to how the technological skills and resources will be integrated into each teacher's curriculum.
Follow-up technical support must be readily accessible, timely, and proficient.
Teachers must be given opportunities during the school year to refresh their training and enhance their skills.
Providing a forum for ongoing discussions allows teachers to rely on the support and knowledge of their peers.
For teachers working with underrepresented populations, hearing the success stories of individuals from similar backgrounds provides inspiration and deeper understanding.

Evaluation of GirlTECH:

Outcomes and elements for success

Julie Foertsch & Baine B. Alexander LEAD Center, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

Methodology of the evaluation:

Immediate outcomes of the GirlTECH workshop:

Long-term outcomes of GirlTECH:

1. More-varied and more frequent use of computers as instructional tools.

2. Considerable success in achieving the objectives of computer-based instruction

3. Effects on participants' schools.

Participants' value ratings of various aspects of GirlTECH

Seven guidelines for a successful K-12 teacher enhancement program on Internet-based instruction and computational science awareness:

Seven guidelines for a successful K-12 teacher enhancement program
on Internet-based instruction and computational science awareness: