Peer Review

Teacher Education Materials TE-MAT database

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Aug 8, 2006 by Teacher Education

Bookmark

Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: The TE-MAT (Teacher Education Materials) Project was funded through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI) to develop an online resource to support professional development providers as they work to enhance the capacity of pre-service and in-service teachers to provide high-quality K-12 mathematics/science education.
Type of Material:: Resource material for professional development providers; online data base
Recommended Uses:: The conceptual framework section would be useful in graduate courses focusing on professional development planning and providing or for math and science methods instructors. Many students have worked with k12 students prior to this course work and are not familiar with planning for adult learners.
Technical Requirements:: None
Identify Major Learning Goals:: In addition to the searchable collection of reviews of professional development materials, the database includes two other components for professional development providers: * A conceptual framework highlights critical elements to consider in designing and implementing an effective professional development program and links to relevant resources for each area. * TE-MAT essays provide reflections of experienced professional development providers on aspects of the design, implementation, and evaluation of professional development for mathematics and science teachers.
Target Student Population:: The target audience, more than any other, is the person providing school-based professional development or the teacher educator seeking out new materials. It would be a unusual self-directed classroom teacher that would work their way through the database seeking new information.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Ability to work with a browser, to bookmark, etc. Understanding of adult learners and what materials would best meet their needs for the professional development being implemented.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The site is peer reviewed by educators. The sites are linked so are the most current available.
Concerns:: Material is of all types: print, internet, etc. so educators looking for strictly online information may be disappointed. There are descriptions of materials that include student work, but there appear to be no examples of student works provided anywhere in the database.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: The site has links to a number of excellent learning objects. It contains useful resources for the professional developer.
Concerns:: Lacks the images and examples that would make it of greater value in teacher education programs.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: Broad reviewed collection in the science and math areas. When searching the database the user can choose to sort by either title or site provides keywords and descriptors.
Concerns:: The lack of any images, even for those items that are visual in their description, is a real distractor for anyone considering the use of the materials in a classroom, not in professional development setting. The collection in very comprehensive but I noticed when drawbook when using the materials index. Publication information is not available until you go to the specific review. You can only get date of publication from the bibliographic data box that is on the review page. It would have been helpful if the date were included in the listing.

Other Issues and Comments:: It was good to see that the database will continue to be developed. According to the website it will continue through NSF funding and under the direction of the Eisenhower National Clearing House.
Creative Commons: