Enhancing Program Quality in Science and Mathematics

In the early 1990s, staff from the National Center for Improving Science Education (NCISE), the various Department of Education (DOE) National Laboratories, and the DOE's Office of Science Education Programs embarked on a 5-year project to develop a process to document what programs the National Laboratories were offering for teachers and students, and to ensure that these programs were operated effectively and led to desired outcomes. This book extends this work by describing the program improvement process. The components of four types of programs are described: (1) teacher development; (2) teacher research; (3) student enrichment; and (4) systemic programs, all based on research and the accumulated experience of expert practitioners. Profiling program quality in action is also illustrated through examples from actual teacher development, teacher research, student enrichment, and systemic programs. (Contains 41 references.) (ASK)