A Telecommunications Project to Empower Kansas Elementary/Middle Level Teachers as Change Agents for Integrated Science and Mathematics Education

Nineteen elementary and 5 middle school in-service teachers served as regional lead teachers to provide 13 two- and four-day workshops for 235 in-service teachers. The lead teachers attended 100 hours of inservice training on national science/math reform curricula, cognitive theory, pedagogical strategies for enhancing problem solving, and authentic assessment procedures. The lead teachers then selected $30,000 worth of instructional materials for use in their classrooms. Subsequently, they developed four hands-on-manipulative-based workshops through extensive use of video-teleconferencing technology. The lead teachers strongly believe that this extensive project has made a permanent positive impact on the quality and quantity of integrated science and math instruction in Kansas.