Linking Resarch and Practice for Site-Based School Renewal.

An analysis of the IBM/NEA Mastery in Learning (MIL) school renewal system, an electronic network that involves school faculties in collegial interaction with researchers and other educators in school reform, is the purpose of this paper. Developed by IBM (International Business Machines) and NEA (National Education Association), the MIL is a site-based, faculty-led reform in which 26 schools participate nationwide. Although local faculties design their own agendas, the MIL project design specifies standard phases of implementation. Specific research questions are concerned with assessing changes in program use and content, the influence on interaction between research and practice, and the impact on school reform. Data were collected from computer log files, printouts of network papers, and telephone interviews with 44 focal participants. Conclusions point to the need for local support, an organized network structure, improved time and access, provision of participant incentives, and attention to substance. Computer network systems provide the medium for activities; however, they must meet participants' needs and support their work. Appendices include statistical tables of the data, a model of the school renewal computer network research design, and a copy of the survey instrument. (18 references) (LMI) ***************************************************************.:******* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Linking Research and Practice for Site-Based School Renewal U S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION RESOURCES ptis document has been reproduced as cowed from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality. 04nts of yoew or opintons stated tn t his document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Shari Castle Carol Livingston NEA Mastery in Learning Project Robert Trafton IBM Corporation Gary Obermeyer Learning Options, Inc. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY -.Id 2e2 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). Paper presented at the annuai meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, MA, April 1990. Partially funded by the Secretary's Fund for Innovation in Education, .., \S Office of Educational Research and Improvement, United States Department of Education. K) q ct qz BEST COPY AVAILABLE st r) kl Ad