Students Using Technology To Achieve Reading – Writing (STAR-W)
New Jersey Department of Education
Trenton, NJ
Introduction/Overview
Organizational Change
Budget & Finance
Professional Development
Technology Infrastructure
Outcomes
Evaluation
Contact Information
Introduction/Overview
The Office of Educational and Informational Technology developed this discretionary grant program in response to a federal and state identified need to increase student achievement in the area of Language Arts Literacy. The Students Using Technology To Achieve Reading – Writing (STAR-W) grant program is designed to increase student achievement in language arts literacy in grades 3–5 by providing classroom teachers with ongoing professional development and in-class support that focuses on integrating technology into the curriculum and instruction. Although an intense professional development plan targets the participating teachers in grades 3–5, all teachers in the school may participate in professional development activities offered through the grant project. This is a 3-year grant program, and the first grant “year” is 14 months. The program is designed to have a minimum of two 3rd-grade teachers, two 4th-grade teachers, and two 5th-grade teachers in the same school learn strategies to infuse technology into the curriculum. The 3- and 4th-grade teachers were given intense followup and in-class support in year 1 of this grant program. These 3rd- and 4th-grade teachers were supported on and assisted with developing language arts literacy programs in which students use technology as a tool during their regular instructional time. The 5th-grade teachers will join the 3rd and 4th-grade teachers for years 2 and 3. The timeline is May 1, 2003–June 30, 2006.
Organizational Change
This Students Using Technology To Achieve Reading – Writing (STAR-W) grant program supports the federal government’s Enhancing Education Through Technology (E2T2) initiative and five key components of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. NCLB challenges each school district with the task of ensuring success for every child, especially in the areas of language arts literacy and mathematics. The five key components are as follows:
1. Improve student academic achievement.
2. Increase access by all district personnel to technology, particularly in high-need districts.
3. Integrate technology effectively into curriculum and instruction.
4. Enhance ongoing professional development.
5. Support the rigorous evaluation of programs.
This grant program also supports New Jersey’s vision for educational technology. The vision for all students in New Jersey is as follows: All students, no matter which district or school they attend, will be able to achieve the Core Curriculum Content Standards because they will have unlimited access to people, to a vast array of curriculum and instruction, and to information and ideas—no matter where they exist. The STAR-W program and its design are shaped with this vision in mind. It is also critical that school principals are active leaders in the grant project. Research shows that “in every effective program, the principal takes an active leadership role.” (Rosier, Fielding & Kerr – The 90% of Reading Goal, 1998, The New Foundation Press.) The principal should participate in the training, guide the implementation of the training, and assist with assessing the progress of the students. This grant opportunity was publicized through listservs on the New Jersey Department of Education's Web site and at conferences. Former grant recipients, including principals, technology coordinators, and superintendents, were queried for input. In addition, Educational Technology Training Center directors provided input to the potential grant opportunities under development.
Budget & Finance
The Students Using Technology To Achieve Reading – Writing (STAR-W) grant program is 100-percent federally funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Public Law 107-100; Title II, Part D Enhancing Education Through Technology, CFDA # 84.318). This multi-year, limited-competitive grant program was designed to provide $9,600,000 in support for 3 years in diminishing amounts as follows: Year 1: $4,000,000 (May 1, 2003–June 30, 2004), Year 2: $3,200,000 (July 1, 20040–June 30, 2005), and Year 3: $2,400,000 (July 1, 2005–June 30, 2006). The recent reduction of Title IID funds may adversely impact this successful program and the evaluation of this program.
Professional Development
The Students Using Technology To Achieve Reading – Writing (STAR-W) grant program is designed to increase student achievement in language arts literacy in grades 3–5 by providing classroom teachers with ongoing professional development and in-class support that focuses on integrating technology into the curriculum and instruction. Research shows that intermittent or one-time workshops will not effect change in the classroom. Therefore, applicants must use other professional development models. The professional development models include multiple methods for sustained training that is followed by in-class support for those teachers involved with this grant program. Although the intense professional development plan will target the participating teachers in grades 3–5, all teachers in the school may participate in professional development activities offered through the grant project. The 3rd- and 4th-grade teachers were given intense followup and in-class support in year 1 of this grant program. The 5th-grade teachers joined the 3rd- and 4th-grade teachers for years 2 and 3 and all are meeting the minimum required 25% professional development requirement. These teachers will be supported and assisted with developing language arts literacy programs where students use technology as a tool during their regular instructional time.
Technology Infrastructure
Most of the STAR-W grant recipients used wireless labs consisting of notebook computers and Dana units. Many also used electronic whiteboards, digital cameras, digital movie cameras, scanners, printers, and projection units.
Outcomes
Outcome: The teacher integration assessment tool is used annually to determine current levels of technology implementation in grades 3–5 and current instructional practices to assist in planning future professional development in educational technology.
Outcome: Increased access to technology in grades 3–5, particularly in high-need districts that have schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or a substantial need for technology.
Outcome: A project Web site includes teacher-created multimedia and Web-based projects that support New Jersey’s language arts literacy curriculum standards, lesson plans, impact of the program on student academic achievement, and other grant-related information.
Outcome: At least 25% of grant funds is expended for ongoing, high-quality professional development for teachers in grades 3–5 in integrating technology into the language arts literacy curriculum and instruction.
Outcome: Each participating teacher in grades 3 and 4 develops a multimedia or Web-based project that is aligned to New Jersey’s Core Curriculum Content Standards in language arts literacy.
Outcome: The New Jersey standardized test scores for each student involved in the grant program are compared and analyzed over the 3-year grant period to evaluate the impact of this program on their academic achievement.
Outcome: Parents are notified about the status of grant activities and their child’s participation and achievement while in the grant program.
Current Outcomes: The ten top-performing schools showed average gains of 18% between 2003 and 2004 in the Language Arts Literacy section of the New Jersey Department of Education’s standardized test for 4th grade. Two of these top schools gained more than 32 percent. Further evaluation of outcomes will take place when outside evaluators are hired through a RFP. The recent reduction of Title IID funds may adversely affect the execution of the evaluation RFP.
Evaluation
Each teacher will participate in taking a teacher integration assessment (such as Levels of Technology Implementation) throughout the 3-year grant period to determine his or her level of technology implementation in the classroom. Although grant participants are selected teachers in grades 3–5, the teacher integration assessment tool is available for all the teachers within the school building. If all teachers in the school complete the teacher assessment, a schoolwide profile may be created to see the level of technology implementation for all of the teachers. The results will assist teachers and districts in planning future staff development for technology, and it will provide data to analyze the relationship between usage and implementation of technology and the achievement levels of the participating teachers’ students.
The New Jersey Department of Education will hire an outside evaluator within the 3-year grant period to collect data of multiple elements such as student achievement scores, the impact of professional development, and attendance rates. Data will be analyzed to determine the impact of grant activities on student achievement and the correlations between teacher technology competencies and student achievement. Districts were encouraged to hire additional technical support when necessary. They were also encouraged to loan equipment to teachers and students to ensure that every child had the necessary equipment to progress while at home. Districts were also expected to look at accessibility for their Web sites and special needs populations and to apply some of those strategies to other students. Quarterly meetings with project directors and periodic meetings with classroom teachers were extremely beneficial for all participants. Teachers were required to present their multimedia projects at a local, state, or national conference and while this provoked some resistance, many teachers claimed that it was a highlight of their professional career. The teachers who presented at conferences took advantage of the other conference workshops and networking opportunities and returned to their districts as respected presenters who were treated as professionals, some claimed for the first time in their careers or in many years.
Contact Information
Larry Cocco
laurence.cocco@doe.state.nj.us
609-633-1693 |
