Creating a Sustainable Professional Network of K-16 Science Faculty
The surveys and interviews show the extent to which new (and sustainable) professional networks emerged from interactions among VIP participants within and across institutional and group boundaries. Through different kinds of activities, a substantial network has developed, comprised of new professional relationships among teachers and faculty.
The value of such relationships is suggested by what the interviewees report: improved instruction and mutual support at the local (teacher) level. The value of a network of such relationships is that it represents fertile ground for future reform efforts on larger scales. It is hoped that this study of the VIP K-16 network will help leaders of other partnership projects to create, nurture, and evaluate professional networks in their own situations.
More information:
For more detailed results and analysis of the VIP K-16 network, follow this link to a paper we wrote for the 2006 MSP Evaluation Summit:
http://mspnet.org13774
