More about eMINTS4All program and implementation

Learn more about the eMINTS4All program, its possibilities and requirements. Printer-friendly version (PDF 94 KB)   eMINTS4All definition Purpose and vision Professional development Classroom visits Technology resources Configurations Portfolio requirements Conclusion

Implementation guide - eMINTS4All

eMINTS4 All: Helping all teachers use teaching methods to give all students high-quality learning opportunities based on a teaching model that all teachers can implement in any classroom or content area so that all students can learn “the eMINTS way.”

eMINTS4All definition

eMINTS4All is a two-year professional development program offered only in schools with full official eMINTS classrooms as a way to realize even greater student gains (social, academic and technological). eMINTS4All provides a minimum of ninety (90) hours of support over two years to teachers who are not involved in the eMINTS Comprehensive Professional Development Program. In addition, eMINTS4All teachers receive 8-9 classrooms visits per year by an eMINTS Instructional Specialist.

eMINTS4All classrooms are equipped with a subset of the hardware and software suite required for official eMINTS classrooms. Equipment and software in eMINTS4All classrooms is based on the developmental level of the students involved. See current equipment specifications on the eMINTS website.

Schools and districts seeking the eMINTS4All designation for teachers and classrooms must comply with the requirements and conditions established in these eMINTS4All Program Implementation Guidelines. Any requests for variance must be forwarded to the eMINTS National Center at emints-info@emints.org for review.

Purpose and vision

eMINTS4All is intended to serve as a key element in the systemic implementation of the eMINTS instructional model (inquiry-based teaching powered by technology). Principals and other district instructional leaders are responsible for articulating instruction (curriculum and teaching strategies) between eMINTS and eMINTS4All classrooms. Articulation requires deep levels of discussion and the development of a professional learning community within a school.

Systemic implementations of the eMINTS instructional model can only occur when an entire school or district plans for and focuses significant effort on three areas:

1. Conscientiously building a community of learners that includes all students and all school personnel.
2. Consistently using constructivist, inquiry-based teaching strategies.
3. Carefully organizing technology resources to transform teaching and learning.

eMINTS4All supports the eMINTS instructional model for all students in all classrooms in a school or district through a complete articulation of the knowledge and skills the school or district wants students to possess socially, academically and technologically. For example, a district decides to establish eMINTS classrooms in all 5 th grades to meet a student learning goal that states “All 5th grade students will demonstrate problem-solving skills that enable them to work with others to create written work expressing multiple points of view.” Teachers in grades K-4 must develop, understand and agree to the role they will play in preparing students socially, academically and technologically so that they will reach the desired goal in 5 th grade. Each grade level’s curriculum and learning experiences must build upon one another in a carefully planned way.

Principals in schools with eMINTS and eMINTS4All classrooms have the primary responsibility for implementing systemic change, for facilitating the relationships among their teachers and achieving the purposes/vision of the eMINTS instructional model. The eMINTS4Administrators program is required for principals of buildings in school-wide or district-wide implementations and strongly recommended for principals new to eMINTS. Guidance and discussion about how to facilitate systemic change is included in the eMINTS4Admin program. It is strongly recommended that they attend at least one session of the eMINTS4All professional development program each year.

eMINTS4All is an effective program for

• Preparing students for eMINTS when implemented in grades preceding official eMINTS classrooms.
• Supplementing eMINTS when implemented in grades following official eMINTS classrooms.
• Spanning a grade level when eMINTS is implemented in a departmental setting or at a middle school or secondary setting.

eMINTS4All may also be effective as an equity factor for some schools or districts. It can bring high-quality teaching with technology to more classrooms, allowing districts to share eMINTS teaching methods across more classrooms and possibly to gradually equip the classrooms to become full official eMINTS classrooms. Teachers who complete eMINTS4All and then acquire the remaining equipment only need to complete the sessions they did not have in eMINTS4All and complete required eMINTS competencies to be recognized as “official” eMINTS teachers.

Professional development

Participants in eMINTS4All receive a subset of the professional development that eMINTS teachers receive. It is a two-year program that includes 90 contact hours – 50 hours in year 1 and 40 hours in year 2 – plus 8-9 classroom visits per year from an eMINTS instructional specialist. The professional development materials and classroom visits include suggestions for eMINTS4All teachers to assist them in implementing the eMINTS instructional model in their classrooms.

PD4ETS participants or certified eMINTS instructional specialists employed by districts or other organizations are required to submit professional development schedules for eMINTS4All groups to the eMINTS National Center prior to the beginning of each school year.

Unlike Comprehensive eMINTS professional development, sessions for eMINTS4All teachers are not prescribed for specific months. The sequence of the modules is important and is prescribed as noted below.

Year 1 eMINTS4All Modules

• Getting Started
• Transforming Learning with Technology
• Interactive White Boards
• Constructivism
• Learning Communities and Technology
• Finding and Organizing Internet Resources
• Cooperative Learning
• Using Presentations in Inquiry-based Learning
• Evaluating and Using Internet Resources
• Tools for Thinking
• Planning a Classroom Website
• Creating a Classroom Website (full day)

Year 2 eMINTS4All Modules

• Questioning Strategies
• Inquiry-based Lessons
• Introduction to WebQuests
• Classroom Communication
• Assessment
• Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning
• Online Projects
• Classroom Management (optional)
• Collaboration Session/Troubleshooting (optional)
• *Mapping a Multimedia Project (optional)
• *Creating Multimedia Products (optional)
• Working with Authentic Data (Optional)
• *must choose 3 optional modules (Multimedia sessions compliment each other)

eMINTS4All professional development provided by PD4ETS participants or certified eMINTS instructional specialists employed by districts or other organizations may provide any additional modules beyond the required hours for their eMINTS4All participants as desired. eMINTS4All professional development provided by eMINTS staff includes only the required hours of content in the modules outlined above. Additional topics/sessions may be included as eMINTS custom professional development for an additional fee.

eMINTS staff recommend scheduling separate professional development sessions for eMINTS4All participants and eMINTS participants when possible. When eMINTS4All is delivered by eMINTS staff, the schedule may be established as needed specifically for eMINTS4All participants. When delivered jointly by district and eMINTS staff, the individuals should jointly determine the best scheduling variation for the school including scheduling a total of not more than four modules over two full days prior to the start of school.

Small groups of eMINTS4All teachers are acceptable; however, the group size should not be less than 5 teachers unless there are extenuating circumstances or the sessions are conducted by non-eMINTS staff.

Classroom visits

The eight to nine classroom visits with eMINTS4All teachers should be provided in the same manner that are provided for eMINTS teachers and for minimum of 45 minutes duration. Ongoing contact (e-mail, drop-in visits, etc.) are strongly encouraged in addition to formal classroom visits. In addition, the following variations are allowed:

• Meeting with the eMINTS4All teachers as a small group during common planning time or after school to cover general support needs and then following up with shorter visits in the classroom.
• Using one Elluminate (e-conferencing) session with an eMINTS4All teacher to substitute for a classroom visit (depending on teacher’s level of implementation) is permitted. One additional (optional) Elluminate session can be provided. Non-eMINTS staff may request the use of Elluminate licenses – use will be granted based on the availability of licenses. Contact support@emints.org for assistance.
• Other options may be proposed; however, variations must be approved by the eMINTS National Center.

Technology resources

Participants in eMINTS4All also have a portion of the technology resources found in eMINTS classrooms. The technology is based on the developmental levels of the students in eMINTS4All classrooms. All equipment must meet current eMINTS specifications as published on the eMINTS National Center website, www.emints.org/equipment/.

1. For grades K–2 and for special education, Title I, gifted and content areas (music, art, etc) classrooms at the primary level, the following suite is required:
• Interactive whiteboard and projector
• Teacher laptop
• Three or four student computers* (laptop or desktop) loaded with approved eMINTS software:
• Schools or districts may choose one of these options:
• Tool Factory Workshop OR
• Scholastic Keys and Canvastic (Note: computer must have Microsoft® Office® installed to run Scholastic Keys)
• Graphic organizer: Kidspiration®
• Content area teachers that travel from classroom to classroom may participate in eMINTS4All with only a laptop since they will be using the equipment in eMINTS and eMINTS4All classrooms.

*K-2 eMINTS4All classrooms may use building computer labs to meet student computer requirements

2. For grades 3–5 and for special education, Title I, gifted and content areas (music, art, etc.) classrooms at the intermediate level, the following suite is required:
• Interactive whiteboard and projector
• Teacher laptop
• Student computers (laptop or desktop) at a ratio of 1 computer for every 4 students loaded with approved eMINTS software:
• Microsoft Office® 2003
• SMART Ideas™
• Content area teachers that travel from classroom to classroom may participate in eMINTS4All with only a laptop since they will be using the equipment in eMINTS and eMINTS4All classrooms.
3. For grades 6-12 and for special education, Title 1, gifted and content area classrooms at the middle and high school levels, the following suite is required:
• Interactive whiteboard and projector
• Teacher laptop
• Student computers (laptop or desktop) at a ratio of 1 computer for every 4 students loaded with approved eMINTS software:
• Microsoft Office® 2003
• SMART Ideas™

eMINTS4All classrooms may use laptop carts that are shared among no more than four classrooms to meet the student computer requirements. Sharing laptop carts between no more than two eMINTS4All classrooms is preferred. K-2 eMINTS4All classrooms may use building computer labs to meet student computer requirements; however, eMINTS4All classrooms in grades 3-12 must have dedicated classroom computers or shared laptop carts.

Allowable eMINTS4All configurations

eMINTS4All is allowed only in schools that have a minimum of two Comprehensive or official eMINTS classrooms**. Since the major purpose of eMINTS4All is to support the building’s implementation of eMINTS and to make it a more systemic implementation, the recommended ratio of eMINTS classrooms to eMINTS4All classrooms is at least two eMINTS classrooms for every four eMINTS4All classrooms.

For example, a well-planned configuration in a school with six sections of grades K-5 might include: full official eMINTS classrooms in all 4 th and 5 th grade classrooms (12 total) and eMINTS4All classrooms in all Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms (24). The school also includes content area teachers (art and music) in eMINTS4All as well as the special education teacher, gifted teacher and Title I teacher. With a ratio of 12 eMINTS classrooms to 27 eMINTS4All classrooms, the systemic nature of the school’s instructional program is evident.

Another example at the middle school level might include: full official eMINTS classrooms in all Language Arts and Mathematics classrooms for the four teams in the school (8 total) and 15 eMINTS4All classrooms in all Social Studies and Science classrooms as well as in several content areas (art, family/consumer sciences, and foreign language). With a ration of 8 eMINTS classrooms to 15 eMINTS4All classrooms, this middle school has a strong systemic learning initiative centered on the eMINTS instructional model.

**Exceptions may be requested in situations where there are atypical school organizational patterns (i.e., districts with all 4 th grades in one building – at least 2 of which are eMINTS - may request eMINTS4All in the 3 rd or 5 th grade buildings) or for other special situations. Exception requests should be sent to the eMINTS National Center at
emints-info@emints.org

Portfolio requirements

eMINTS4All teachers are expected to complete a portfolio requirement. eMINTS4All requirements are significantly reduced in scope from those required of eMINTS teachers. Any eMINTS4All teacher who later becomes an official eMINTS teacher will be asked to complete the additional requirements expected of eMINTS teachers.

Learn more about teacher portfolios at http://www.emints.org/resources/portfolio.

Conclusion

eMINTS4All is good teaching with technology – the tool set may be more limited than eMINTS but its importance in the overall successful implementation of the eMINTS instructional model cannot be underestimated.

Clarifications and questions about eMINTS4All should be addressed to the eMINTS National Center at (573) 884-7202 or emints-info@emints.org.

Reviewed June 13, 2008.