"EnergyNet: Learning from Year One"
Table of Contents
Introduction/Objectives of the Study
Significance
Theoretical Underpinnings
Design and Procedures
Findings
Recommendations
References

Theoretical Underpinnings

Theories about teacher change offer a framework for understanding many teachers' experiences of the project. According to research(Loucks-Horsley and Stigelbauer, 1991; Hall and Hord, 1987), teachers' use of innovations depends on their experience. Confronted with a curriculum they have not seen, many teachers first pay almost exclusive attention to the management of new materials (curriculums, computers, hands on materials). When they feel comfortable with materials and logistics some teachers are more able to pay attention to other aspects of teaching, such as collaboration, student learning, adapting the curriculum, and improving their practice. In their article, "Inquiry Into Science Teaching by a Network-Mediated Science Teachers' Community", Gal and DiMauro (1994) describe five practices of network use from most to least used:

to link teachers with colleagues and professionals
to offer teachers access to information
to carry out joint teaching activities
to develop skills of reflective practice and
for learning new teaching approaches.

Based on the research results, the EnergyNet project achieved the first two on the list, but the collaborative aspect of the project remained embryonic, and few teachers reported any impact on their teaching practices. In the case study reported by Gal and DiMauro, teachers also used a new curriculum and shared findings with other classrooms. A crucial difference between the two, however, was that the EnergyNet project relied on use of the Internet as well as a new software package for data recording, analysis, and sharing, while the extent of the technology in the Project Enhanced Science Learning project described by Gal and DiMauro was the much simpler America Online electronic mail for communication. This is a big difference: EnergyNet teachers had to master a completely new and complex data sharing technology before they could collaborate around the data.