The Friday Institute 2009 Annual Report to the Dean

Changes in Service Environment:

There have been several significant changes in our service environment in the past year.

  • The state has experienced major changes in the past year; a new Governor was elected, the state is facing major budget cuts and the general economy has been poor.
  • The Governor’s office has asked the Friday Institute to lead the state-wide effort to develop the proposal for the competitive federal stimulus program known as Race to the Top. The proposal will include a request for funding in the $300 to $500 million range.
  • There are other federal stimulus opportunities such as the What Works Innovation Fund that could provide funding for FI associated projects. Guidelines will be announced later this summer.
  • The NC State legislature has increased the allocation for the School Connectivity Initiative (SCI) to $22 million on an annual, recurring basis ($600,000 of that allocation was scheduled to be distributed to the FI for the project evaluation). The goals of the project are to create and maintain a broadband education network for all school districts in the state. The Friday Institute is leading a coalition of business and government partners in implementing these goals. Based upon the successful work on the SCI, the Friday Institute has established itself as a reliable resource to plan and manage state-wide initiatives related to education and technology.
  • The NC State legislature has allocated an additional $1.5 million in non-recurring funds to continue the one-to-one computing program pilot. The program, originally in 8 pilot schools, provides a laptop computer for every student and teacher. It is being expanded to an additional 13 schools. The GoldenLEAF Foundation and SAS provided computers to the program; the state legislation provided funding for wifi networking within the schools, other technology resources such as SmartBoards and software, professional development, and evaluation. The Friday Institute is also leading the planning to turn the pilot program into a state-wide initiative and provides professional development and evaluation services to the project as a member of the One-to-One Steering Committee. We have also initiated, with multiple partners, the One-to-One Learning Collaborative, to provide online support to teachers and administrators in schools implementing one-to-one programs, and will be running the 2nd annual institute for leadership teams from these schools during July 2009. We have also received a $300,000 grant from the GoldenLEAF Foundation to provide technical assistance and professional development to additional schools that are planning future 1:1 initiatives.
  • The Friday Institute provides technical support and evaluation services to the North Carolina Virtual Public School.
  • The National Science Foundation has updated the conceptual frameworks for their education funding programs. The new system includes a cycle of innovation and the work of the Friday Institute is very consistent with this framework. Two of the projects of Jere Confrey’s team, DELTA and Synthesis of Rational Number Reasoning, were used by the NSF as outstanding examples of progress in this new cycle of innovation. See Research for a full listing of grants awarded in the last year.
  • The Friday Institute’s Executive Director and Director of Technology are both members of the NC E-Learning Commission. The commission is a partnership between business, government, and the State Board of Education to develop policies and programs relating to technology for K-20 education. Phil Emer has been tapped to co-chair this group for the coming year and Glenn Kleiman is the co-chair of the Teaching and Learning sub-committee.

Compact Plan:

High quality, diverse faculty and staff

The Friday Institute is committed to hiring and retaining the highest quality staff. In the previous year, 36% of all new employees were persons of color and 81% were women.

Strengthen K-12 teacher preparation, especially STEM

Dr. Spires chaired the committee that created the New Literacies and Global Learning concentration for the Curriculum & Instruction Master’s degree. Two innovative features of the program are the emphasis on global connections and the project-based inquiry approach that results in students participating in a Design Studio Showcase at the end of the program. This academic concentration relates directly to the work of the New Literacies Collaborative, which Dr. Spires launched in 2007 at the Friday Institute.

Strengthen extension and engagement

The Friday Institute continues to build a strong portfolio of extension and engagement activities. A partial list of our activities can be found under Extension.

Aggressively build research and graduate programs

The Friday Institute is committed to research and building research capacity, and faculty associated with the Friday Institute have received a number of new NSF grants, as detailed below. The FI currently oversees $7,132,845 in research grants and contracts and had a budget allocation of $4,601,796 for FY 09. In addition, the FI has had more than 50 graduate students involved in our work, mostly as GRAs, during the past year, and is committed to continue to involve as many graduates students as possible in roles that further their professional education and provide opportunities to engage in research and outreach. Three CED doctoral students are planning dissertations closely related to their work at the Friday Institute.

Diversity:

The Friday Institute has increased its staff diversity by hiring four persons of color within the previous year, two on the administrative team, Vernell Jones and Tracey Holder, and two on the professional research staff, Tricia Townsend, and Rodolfo Argueta.

Instructional Program Advances:

Does not apply to the Friday Institute.

Research:

The Friday Institute received new grants and contracts totaling $3,286,965 in FY 2009 and currently supports research grants and contracts that total$7,132,845. The budget allocation from these grants was $4,601,796 for FY 2009.Research is focused in four main areas: Technology Infrastructures for K-12 schools, Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century, Leadership Development, and Evaluation of Educational Innovations. The two largest grantors are the National Science Foundation and the NC Department of Public Instruction.

New research grants and contracts awarded in FY2009 include:

  • NC STEM funded by the NC DPI and Wheldon City Schools
  • NC QUEST Project - Middle Math Teacher Academy: Effective Content and Literacy Instruction in Geometry and Measurement for 6-8 Teachers funded by Fayetteville State University
  • North Carolina 1:1 Learning Project - FY 09 Professional Development funded by the NC DPI
  • North Carolina 1:1 Learning - FY 09 Project Planning funded by NC DPI
  • North Carolina Virtual Public School Strategic Plan Evaluation funded by NC DPI
  • Statewide Evaluation of North Carolina's Enhancing Education Through Technology Competitive Grant: Impact II funded by NC DPI and various counties
  • Evaluation of North Carolina's One to One Laptop Pilot Program funded by NC DPI and various counties
  • Redesigned High Schools 2.0: Proposed Expansion of the NC 1:1 Learning Project funded by the SAS Institute, Inc.
  • 1:1 Learning Technology Initiatives funded by Golden LEAF Foundation
  • Diagnostic E-Learning Trajectories Approach (DELTA) Applied to Rational Number Reasoning for Grades 3-8 (Supplement) funded by the NSF
  • Increasing the Pipeline: Research and Education on Stimulating Interest in High Confidence Software and Systems funded by the NSF
  • Evaluation of the 1:1 Learning Initiative funded by Edgecombe County Schools and the Golden LEAF Foundation
  • Developing Science Problem Solving Skills and Engagement Through Intelligent Game-Based Learning Environments funded by the NSF

Extension:

The Friday Institute is committed to providing service to North Carolina and its communities. The following projects, and activities illustrate that commitment.

NC e-Learning for Educators—NC e-Learning for Educators is a state-wide partnership involving the Friday Institute, NC DPI, UNC-TV, LEARN NC, and the North Carolina Virtual Public School and is part of a national network. The goal of the project is to provide high-quality, cost-effective professional development programs that will increase teacher knowledge and improve student performance.

NC Learning Technology Readiness Initiative- The Friday Institute received a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to provide coaching and professional development to 14 LEAs that are planning 1:1 learning technology initiatives.

NC Integrated Math- The purpose of this partnership is to facilitate teacher professional development for the integrated mathematics curriculum (CorePlus) in 8 underserved districts in North Carolina and their eight New Schools Project-affiliated high schools.

Innovation Leaders Academy- This project is designed to provide leadership training to schools and school systems and assist with designing innovative solutions to problems, spreading and scaling up effective innovations, and sustaining those innovations over time. The Academy is in conjunction with the 21st Century Teaching and Learning project in 6 Northeast NC school districts. The first cycle of the academy was completed in the past year with extensive work in the districts involving superintendents, principals, teachers and others using validated assessment instruments that help create better understandings about local school culture and subsequent pathways for improvement.

21st Century Teaching and Learning - The Friday Institute is collaborating with educators from northeastern North Carolina school districts to create innovative classroom practices – and a technology infrastructure to support them – in rural public schools. New, technology-based learning tools will enable interactive, collaborative and engaging learning experiences that boost creativity and self-directed learning skills. Currently, over 12,000 students are impacted by this program in 2 school districts.

NC Mathematics and Science Education Network (MSEN) Pre-College Program- NC-MSEN Pre-College Program enrolls 450 under-served middle and high school students in year round math and science enrichment activities. The program supports students in Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash and Wake Counties. There is a high success rate among its participants, 97% go on to 4-year college or university and 80% of those major in a STEM field.

MINDSET—The goal of the MINDSET project is to design, implement, and evaluate a new fourth year high school mathematics curriculum based on the mathematical tools developed in operations research and industrial engineering. The project was developed to provide an alternative to the pre-calculus/calculus classes for students who are now required by law to take four years of high school mathematics in North Carolina and Michigan.

Leading Innovation Institute- The second annual institute devoted to helping school and district leaders implement effective programs in which 21st century teaching and learning is enhanced by a 1:1 ratio of students and computers. The hands-on learning experiences are held each July at the Friday Institute and are attended by school or district teams involved with planning 1:1 learning environments.

New Literacies Teacher Leader Institute –The institute is a national week long conference devoted to the changing world of teaching and learning. Participants will create and develop technology rich lessons with the guidance and support of national leaders on topics of interest.

Trajectory of Science Scholars (TOSS)--The TOSS Project is a professional development initiative designed to engage teachers in collaboratively examining the trajectory of student learning in the biological sciences from basic content knowledge to mastery of advanced concepts. This project involves schools with a high percentage of impoverished students that have been identified as some of the lowest performing in the district and the state. The project creates professional learning communities to achieve its goals.

Other extension activities include:

Professional Development

  • International presentation on game-based learning—July 2008
  • Plenary presentation to the Council of Chief State School Officers meeting
  • Plenary policy presentation at the NCSBA
  • Multiple plenary presentations at NSF meetings
  • Multiple plenary presentations at NCCTM meetings
  • Presentations at the Southern Regional Education Board, the Milken Institute, and the NC State Board of Education about the NC 1:1 Learning Technology Initiative

K-12 Student Development

  • Drs. Jere Confrey and Alan Maloney led the effort to rewrite the NC Standard Course of Study for K-12 math
  • NanoDays for Middle and High School Students (1500 students from across NC)
  • Crystal Island is an interactive gaming environment that teaches Microbiology content from the NC Standard Course of Study. Approximately 270 8th grade students interacted with Crystal Island in the past year.
  • Narrative Theatre used writing workshops and creativity development to impact 200 6th grade students within the past year.
  • RAMP-UP impacted approximately 800 Wake County elementary and middle school students on a weekly basis with math and science focused activities and field trips.
  • Drs. Confrey and Maloney are field testing new equipartitioning techniques with 5000 NC K-8 students

Faculty:

Does not apply to the Friday Institute.

Students:

Does not apply to the Friday Institute.

Fundraising:

Private fundraising for the Friday Institute consisted of gifts totaling $152,836.88. Individual gifts included a $10,000 gift from Anne Goodnight and a $200 gift from Dr. Grover J. Andrews for the Executive Director’s Discretionary Fund; a gift of $80,000 from BB&T to support the FI Leadership Collaboratory; a gift of $35,000 from IBM to support work by Senior Research Fellow Eric Wiebe and the K-12 Technology Infrastructure Project; gifts totaling $27,636.68 were also made to the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation Fund (building and equipment account)$25,000 donated by Dr. Lee V. Stiff, $2,000 from Dan & Kay Moore, $300 from Dr. John E. Penick, $166.68 from Dr. Lisa Grable , $120 from Dr. Aaron C. Clark, and $50 from Maj Gen. Henry M. Hobgood.

Administration:

The Friday Institute continues to increase its staff in important areas such evaluation, research and administration. New hires since July 1, 2008 include:

Kristen Corbell, Research Associate (Post Doc)

Vernell Jones, Admin Support Associate

Tracey Holder, Admin support Specialist

Marjorie Santoro, Executive Assistant

Rodolfo Argueta, Research Associate

Kim Cohen, Research Associate

Emmy Coleman, Research Associate

Jessica Huff, Research Associate

Tricia Townsend, Research Associate

Melinda Mollette, Research Associate

Bob Haggerty, Technology Support Technician

Also of note, Dr. Hiller Spires received an honorable mention Gertrude A. Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning with Technology.

Recommendations and concerns:

The Friday Institute has grown quickly and is facing some normal growth pains. As we look to the future, we will continue the work defining the expectations and relationship with CED and our role within the university. Having completed and exceeded the goals of the 2007-2009 strategic plan, we are begining the process of developing a new strategic plan for the next round of our work. We are also beginning to plan for our 5-year review. Overall, our only major concern, along with everyone else, is the budget situation, but we believe that the visibility and importance of our work with the State, the diversity of our funding, and our careful planning for budget cuts, will enable us to continue to move our work forward even within the current fiscal climate.

Creating Educational Innovation:

Creating Educational Innovation is so integral to our mission that it is part of our name. All of our work focuses in this area to some degree, but here are a few highlights of our programs and initiatives:

School Connectivity Initiative- In November of 2006 the State Board of Education, the Governor's Office, and the Lieutenant Governor's Office asked the Friday Institute to act as program manager for the School Connectivity Initiative. In our role as SCI program manager, the FI has:

  • Served as the base of operations for the program;
  • Provided technical planning and design services;
  • Provided coordination across agencies, programs, and industry;
  • Served as the primary communications conduit to the LEAs;
  • Served as technical and E‑rate consultant to LEAs; and
  • Acted as a liaison to the General Assembly on behalf of the SBE and DPI.

The initiative partners along with Representative Joe Tolson, Senator Vernon Malone and Myra Best of the E-Learning Commission were recognized with the Public Leadership in Technology Award, given by the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA), in November 2008. The prestigious award recognized the importance of laying the foundations necessary to develop educational innovations.

The SCI is the foundational element that allows for new initiatives such as NCLTI and RTTT. The work done in this program has established the FI as a policy advisor to state government and a place of action to build and execute state-wide initiatives surrounding education and technology. We continue to serve as a de‑facto technology in education extension service for the SCI and other emerging technology pilots and online education programs.

NC 1:1 Learning Collaborative- Led by the Friday Institute, The 1:1 Learning Collaborative supports teachers, administrators, technology facilitators, and others in 1:1 learning technology environments by providing an array of high quality professional development opportunities and web based resources focused on implementing educationally effective 1:1 computing programs. The NC 1:1 Ning is the Learning Collaborative's professional learning network, created for 1:1 educators to share and discuss ideas related to implementing and sustaining effective 1:1 learning technology programs.

Cinema Veriteen-Cinéma Veritéen is a research project that culminates in student-generated videos. The project illustrates that complex thinking and learning and the YouTube aesthetic are not mutually exclusive. Rather, this unique amalgamation catalyzes student engagement in relevant and rigorous content through contemporary media.

Fizz –The Friday Institute continues to develop a process and suite of tools called FIZZ in which teachers can implement extremely safe web 2.0 environments. These tools allow teachers to safely broadcast teaching and learning outcomes over the Internet so students can share their work with parents and friends, in addition to teaching them about Internet safety issues. FIZZ is currently being utilized in 39 schools across 8 NC counties.