GENERATION YES

Generation Y - Research and Evaluation

Generation Y is one of most researched educational technology programs in the United States. Since the start of the Technology Innovation Challenge Grant (TICG) program, an annual, independent external evaluation was completed by the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (NWREL).

• Generation Y rated Exemplary by US Department of Education Expert Panel
• NWREL evaluations
• Annual reports to the US Department of Education
• Current Research In Higher Education Partnerships - PT3 Grant and ST²EP

Generation Y Receives U.S. D.O.E. Exemplary Award

Generation Y received one of only two "Exemplary" awards for educational technology programs . The following links provide additional information about the Expert Panel, its review procedures and criteria, and the awards issued.

The Expert Panel on Educational Technology was established by the U.S. Department of Education "to oversee a valid and viable process for identifying and designating promising and exemplary educational programs so that practitioners can make better-informed decisions in their ongoing efforts to improve the quality of student learning." Over a 2 year period, the 18-member panel reviewed 134 educational technology programs based on following criteria:

1. Quality of Program
2. Educational Significance
3. Evidence of Effectiveness
4. Usefulness to Others

Full Report (HTML) (PDF version)

Generation Y Evaluation (HTML) (PDF version)

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NWREL Evaluation Reports

The following links provide information about Generation Y which has been gathered by the Assessment and Evaluation Program of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). NWREL has been conducting an annual independent external evaluation of the Generation Y project since 1996.

Each evaluation report is available in PDF format. [NOTE: PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.]

Overview of Generation Y

Generation Y 2003-2004 National Survey Data

Generation Y 2002-2003 National Survey Data

Generation Y 2001-2002 National Survey Data

Generation Y 1998-2000 Survey Data

Federal 1996-2001 TICG Generation Y Project Evaluation (PDF)

From the evaluation reports...

• 90 percent of the students completed their projects
• Their partner-teachers consider the projects to be of high quality (93 percent)
• The majority of the partner teachers (92 percent) reported using the projects in their regular classes and planning to update or extend the projects in future class activities (94 percent).
• About 90 percent of the responding teachers reported that as a result of the Gen Y, they learned about technology and their students learned about technology and a content discipline.
• Nearly all (about 95 percent) consider Gen Y a good method for providing support and assistance to teachers as they integrate technology into their classes, reported a desire to continue participating in the program, and said they would continue to rebuild lesson plans to benefit from using educational technology.
• Eighty-two percent of the teachers reported that the experience would change the way that they teach in the future.
• When asked their opinion about using technology in education after participating in Gen Y, virtually everyone (98 percent) said they felt technology facilitates positive changes in classroom teaching and learning practices.

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Annual Reports on Generation Y

In addition to NWREL program evaluation information, you may want to view Annual Reports prepared by the Olympia School District each year for the U.S. Department of Education. These reports contain summaries of the Generation Y model, program development and the evaluation data.

The most current evaluation report covers the entire five year TICG project (1996-2001) , and is available in PDF format. [NOTE: PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.]

1st Annual Performance Report, May 1997

2nd Annual Performance Report May, 1998

3rd Annual Performance Report, May 1999 [PDF]

4th Annual Performance Report May, 2000 [PDF]

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Current Research - The Generation Y Higher Education Model

The Generation Y Higher Education Model emphasizes a community of learners that includes ALL members of the community, even the 92% of the education community that are usually forgotten -- the students.

Late in 1999, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) awarded a $2.1 million, three-year Catalyst grant (one of only 35) to The Evergreen State College to implement the Student Teacher Technology Education Partnership (ST²EP) project. ST²EP is housed at the Evergreen Center for Educational Improvement, a K-12 public service center of the college.

The project, part of the DOE's Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant program, is designed to help teacher education students learn how to use technology to engage students in learning. Nine colleges of teacher education and 16 K-12 schools from five different states are participating.

As part of this project, Gen Y student graduates in grades 3-12 work with colleges of education to provide their faculty and pre service teachers training on how to infuse technology into the curriculum.

ST2EP web site Collaborating Across Boundaries: Innovative Technology-Enhanced Models of Teacher Education - Program Details

The colleges of teacher education are implementing the model in various ways:

• Pre service teachers join the collaboration team with K-12 Gen Y students as they help their teachers infuse technology into the curriculum,
• Required pre service educational technology courses are held in K-12 schools and taught by Generation Y graduates (Gen Dids).
• Gen Dids work with college of education faculty to help them model the use of technology to improve learning in their courses.
• Pre service teachers work with Gen Y kids to produce web pages on a variety of academic topics.

The key questions that are asked in this research is what will happen if more teachers feel free to cross boundaries of curriculum structures, roles, and distance? And how will teachers and their students use technology to assist those processes?

Ongoing research and improvement is basic to the mission of Generation YES as we continue to explore and improve our models. We actively search out new opportunities to participate in research in collaborative learning communities and student empowerment.

If you are interested in updates on the progress of this ongoing research, please contact us for further information.

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