More recently, educators in Missouri issued their findings on a study of the
impact the statewide eMints program had on academic achievement. This
program is designed as a comprehensive approach to assist teachers to integrate
technology. Participating teachers receive classroom equipment and over two
hundred hours of professional development over a two-year period. In addition
to traditional workshops, eMints training includes peer coaching for individual
teachers. The training is designed to help teachers integrate technology so that
they can use inquiry-based teaching and emphasize critical-thinking and problem
solving skills. As one of the program leaders noted, "We find that when you put
the two, (inquiry-based learning and true technology integration) together there's
a synergy created that really boosts students' learning" (Brannigan, 2002). The
power of pairing technology with inquiry learning was directly reflected in the
test scores of more than 6,000 third and fourth grade students who recently took
the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test. "Results show that a higher
percent of students in eMINTS classrooms scored in the 'Proficient' or 'Advanced'
categories…when compared with other students who took the MAP tests…"
(Brannigan, 2002; Evaluation Team Policy Brief, 2002).