Eureka Pilot Project Report Jordan1

EUREKA IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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PILOTING EUREKA IN JORDAN

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

EVALUATION REPORT

OCTOBER 2012


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Jordan Education Initiative would like to thank Designmate and LKD Educational

Resources for providing licenses for Eureka 3D e-content to be piloted in Jordan public

schools and for their continuous support.

Special thanks to the schools’ principals, teachers and students from (Dahiet Al-

Rasheed School, Princess Taghreed School and Jamil Shaker School) for their

continuous cooperation.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................. 5

3. IMPLEMENTATION ...................................................................................................... 5

3.1 SCHOOLS’ SELECTION: ....................................................................................... 6

3.2 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION: ............................................................................... 6

3.3 TEACHERS TRAINING: ........................................................................................ 6

3.4 MAPPING EUREKA WITH THE CURRICULUM: ............................................... 6

3.5 PARTNERS ROLE .................................................................................................. 8

4. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 9

4.1 FINDINGS .................................................................................................................... 10

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................... 16


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1. INTRODUCTION

The Jordan Education Initiative has emerged as the first model that manifests the true

partnership between the public and private sectors, by the World Economic Forum and

the Jordanian Government, during the extraordinary meeting of the Forum that took

place under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II at the Dead Sea in June

2003. It was launched in the presence of more than one hundred local and international

participants, with the aim of supporting Jordan's efforts in improving the level of

education, encouraging creativity, developing capabilities and building knowledge

economy by using the latest technological tools in one hundred governmental schools

that was later named "Discovery Schools".

The Jordan Education Initiative one of Her Majesty's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah

non-profit organizations that had, since its launching 6 years ago, the care and support

of Her Majesty through her close follow up to every creativity and excellence. Because

of this care and follow up, many countries have sought the help of this initiative

especially in terms of electronic curricula, providing infrastructure for utilizing

technology in education, and in the implementation of creative and unique programs for

the factors of the educational process "The Student, The Teacher, The School Unit".

The Initiative has worked in the Discovery Schools and has influenced 80,000 students,

3000 teachers, provided technological climates and electronic resources, and

unprecedented and qualitative achievements. The initiative was registered as a non-

profit organization, and had the honor of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah to

launch the second phase of the initiative in 2008.

One of JEI’s main objectives is to “encourage the development of an efficient public-

private model for the acceleration of educational reforms in developing countries by

bringing out the innovation of teachers and students through developing and integrating

ICT in the educational strategies and approaches”.

Studies have clearly documented the value of technological capabilities for enhancing

the presentation of complex or abstract content, such as computer visualization

techniques (Baxter, 1995; Lewis, Stern, & Linn 1993).

JEI piloted Eureka academic semester 2011/ 2012 in 3 Discovery Schools in Amman-

Jordan in collaboration with Designmate through LKD Educational Resources.

Designmate has been in operation for more than 24 years as a 3D production house

developing creative e-Content for K12 education. They pioneer in animations and use of

graphics to simplify concepts of Science, Biology, Physics and Chemistry. The e-Content

created is a unique combination of 3D videos, simulations, experiments, learning

activities, quizzes, texts, images, weblinks & learning objects known as Eureka.

Eureka is a comprehensive, innovative and interactive 3D educational software solution

for learning science subjects covering K12 curriculum. It ensures value addition to use

of ICT in education.


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This report summarizes the evaluation findings of Eureka implementation in the

schools.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

JEI was provided by 3 licences to pilote Eureka in 3 Discovery schools, Tow girls’

schools and one boys’school.

Eureka aims at providing interactive learning

environment where students , enjoy and understand

complex topics of K12 curriculum in high definition 3D

stereoscopy, which stimulates critical thinking skills

and conclusion of scientific concepts.

The software tackles different concepts in chemistry,

biology and physics for grades 6th-12th. The software is

designed for the use of both students and teachers, and it is provided in Arabic and

English language. Moreover, Eureka is designed of 1200 films, 1200 quizzes and 329

simulations for Physics, Chemistry and Biology where JEI delivered the training to

schools on how to use the software.

In particular, Eureka project aims at:

Providing teachers with new methodologies and approaches to teach

Science in a more interactive way to enable students to learn Science

concept

Providing students with skills to smooth difficulties in learning scientific

concepts

Creating a learning environment that stimulates critical thinking

3. IMPLEMENTATION

Initially, Eureka was to be piloted within 5 Discovery Schools through the academic

semester 2011/ 2012. Compared to the low computers specifications in the public

schools, Eureka requires a relatively high computer specs to operate smoothly.

Based on this requirement and the needed motivation of schools to adopt it, the

project was finally piloted in 3 Discovery Schools in order to provide a good

understanding of the effectiveness of the software.

Making the Eureka available to 18 teachers and more than 1000 students over 3

schools was possible through the following implementation phases:


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3.1 SCHOOLS’ SELECTION:

Three licenses of Eureka were distributed over 3 Discovery Schools. With the aim to

ensure the maximum utilization, JEI team selected schools that had 9th to 11th

grades of which Science teachers showed interest in using the software. According to

these criteria, the following schools, teachers, and students were selected to

participate in the project:

School Name Teachers Grades

Dahiet Al Rasheed 6 9,10,11

Princess Taghreed 6 9,10,11

Jamil Shaker 6 9,10,11

3.2 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION:

On the onset of the first academic semester, JEI assessed the technical readiness of

the computer labs in the selected schools for the software installation. After setting

up a proper running environment, Eureka licenses were installed across the 3

schools through LKD, depending on the computer specs available in the computer

labs and the students’ accessibility to them. Eureka software was installed in a

network model, where the main Eureka content for teachers was installed on one

host machine, that to be activated through a dongle received by teachers in each

school and the client PCs in which students to access, were available easily without

any requirements.

3.3 TEACHERS TRAINING:

After completing the installation, JEI trained teachers in each school on operating

the software and integrating its different components from pedagogical perspective.

A total of 6 training sessions took place over the academic year as each school

received two trainings with the beginning of each semester.

3.4 MAPPING EUREKA WITH THE CURRICULUM:

In order to facilitate the adoption of the software in teachers’ lessons, JEI team

developed a manual to match grades 9-12 science textbooks (Biology, Physics and


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Chemistry) with the content available in Eureka software. The manual was

developed for the textbooks of the second semester and distributed to the

participating schools and teachers.

Grade Number of Eureka Videos

9th Grade - Biology 26

9th Grade - Physics 28

9th Grade - Chemistry 31

10th Grade- Chemistry 31


10th Grade- Biology 27





12th Grade - Physics N/A


The table above conveys the number of videos available in Eureka for each grade

and subject.


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3.5 PARTNERS ROLE

Jordan Education Initiative

Selecting teachers and schools

Assure the labs readiness at schools for the software implementation

Follow-up on program implementation in schools

Training JEI team members on the Eureka software and its features form Educational

and technical perspective

Constant follow up with the school’s implementation to the project

Classroom observations and conducting focus groups

Mapping Eureka content to MoE curricula

Eureka (Designmate)

Providing licenses to schools

Providing dongles to teachers

JEI support and follow up on Eureka implementation in schools, like extending licenses

and technical support on running Eureka through LKD.

Initial briefing and introducing to Eureka software

LKD

Eureka Software installation

Technical support to Eureka Software

JEI assistance and follow up on Eureka utilization

MoE

Provided JEI with an approval to initiate the program

Facilitate the program implementation in the schools

Facilitate teachers’ trainings in schools

Schools’ Principals

Teachers’ support and encouragement to use the software

Facilitate the program implementation in the schools

Facilitate teachers’ trainings in schools

Facilitate students’ trainings in schools


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4. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

JEI worked on evaluating Eureka’s project, therefore it was involved in the project

from the initiation phase, their responsibilities were to set the expected outcomes

and design the M&E Framework, then collect the baseline to set a reference point

that will indicate the progress in achieving the targets of the project.

The final evaluation which is reflected in this report was carried out in April-May

2012 and intended to capturing the experience of the participating schools in using

Eureka, and the lessons learned out of this experience.

The expected outcomes out of implementing Eureka in the schools were:

1. Better understanding and acquisition of abstract concepts of science

topics (Chemistry, Physics and Biology)

2. Students’ interest in scientific fields formed and enhanced

3. Teachers exposure to new teaching methodologies in science enhanced

Both mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) were used to collect data related to

the outcomes question.

The quantitative approach intended to collect all relevant data mainly through the

following

Questionnaires targeting teachers and students that focused on their feedback

and opinions after practicing Eureka.

Students’ scores in the related subjects (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) were

collected throughout the academic year.

The qualitative approach considered:

Focus groups: which were conducted with teachers for the three subjects

(Physics, Chemistry and Biology) and students from (9th, 10th and 11th) grades

the questions discussed the participants’ reaction, attitude and experience while

and after watching Eureka 3D animated educational movies.


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4.1 FINDINGS

The collected data and research illustrated to what extent has the outcome been

achieved, and this covers two schools (Princess Taghred and Dahiet Al Rasheed) out of

three, Jamil Shaker school wasn’t included in this evaluation as the implementation

was not sufficient, but we will discuss their experience and the reasons behind their

decision of not completing the project.

The first evaluation question is:

As shown in the two figures below figure (4.1.1) and figure (4.1.2), around 93% of the

students agreed that Eureka has enhanced their capacity to understand Biology, 78%

thought the same in Physics and 55% for Chemistry.

As for Eureka’s influence on the academic achievement, around 81% agreed that Eureka

participated in enhancing their scores’ in Biology, 76% reported that Eureka contributed

in improving their academic achievement in Physics and the least is chemistry with

49%.

Figure (4.1.2)

Q1. To what extent have the students obtained better understanding and acquisition of abstract concepts of

science topics (Physics, Chemistry and Biology)?

Biology Chemistry Physics

56.30%

44.40% 50.00%

37.50%

11.10%

28.60%

6.30%

44.40%

21.40%

Has Eureka enhanced your understanding in the following subjects?

Yes, very much Yes, a little bit Did not affect


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Figure (4.1.2)

It was noticed and as shown in figure (4.1.3) that the Biology teachers employed Eureka

almost triple time the other teachers did, this explained the students’ feedback that

they experienced the positive impact of Eureka mainly in Biology.

Figure (4.1.3)

* This includes the 2 schools (Princess Taghred and Dahiet Al Rasheed ) and

covers the 3 grades for the second semester.

As for the students’ scores, it was collected for the first and the second semester in the 3

subjects and the change in achievement were tested, in general and as shown in the

figure(4.1.4) and figure(4.1.5) almost all subjects witnessed a positive slight growth,


51.60%

27.80%

38.50%

29.00% 22.20%

38.50%

19.40%

50.00%

23.10%

Has Eureka enhanced your academic achievement in the following subjects?

Yes, very much Yes, a little bit Did not affect

0

5

10

15

20

25

Biology Chemistry

Physics

23

6 8

Eureka's number of utilizations


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although we can’t attribute this growth directly to Eureka but teachers agreed that

Eureka helped students in understanding new concepts and remember it easily.

Figure (4.1.4)

Figure (4.1.5)

This proves that when students make visual contact with the scientific ideas they would

be able to achieve better understanding and a good ability to retain the information.

8

5

9

6

3

-4

7

3

-3

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

9th grade 10th grade

11grade 9th grade 10th grade


11grade


Change in the scores average Dahiet Al Rashed school

11

8

6 6

-2

5 6

5

10

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

9th grade 10th grade



11grade


Change in the scores average Princess Taghred school


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To answer this question we asked the students if they were inspired by Eureka to work

on science projects, around 96% of the students participated in science project during

the semester.

Teachers also said that students are motivated to work on science projects that simulate

and utilized what was demonstrated by Eureka.

In Dahiet Al Rashed school students

worked on a project about the electricity

sources, generation and waste causes.

The students simulate the electricity

circuit and they tested its effectiveness

and quality.

Moreover all teachers witnessed a remarkable change in the students’ level of questions

and so participation in Eureka lesson, and they said Eureka gave them the chance to

see things in a comprehensive perspective.

Q2. Has the students interest in the scientific fields formed and enhanced

The Electricity and magnetism lesson through Eureka motivated us to participate

in a project for Microsoft partner in learning competition

Teacher from

Dahiet Al Rashed school


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Based on our observations, teachers show good interaction with Eureka and they

quickly get familiar with utilizing it to serve their objectives.

Teachers said that searching for their lessons was the most important step, and the

mapping document which was provided by JEI helped them in selecting lessons,

although the matching between Eureka and the curricula is not identical 100% but

it was fine if something is missing or if additional information is provided by

Eureka.

The training was sufficient and the teachers said they didn’t ask for additional

training on how to operate Eureka.

Teachers also mentioned the competitions which were available after the movie, it

worked as assessment tool to grade the students understanding, this tool was very

helpful and force the students to stay focused and prepared for answering the

questions.

As for assessing the performance of Eureka, teachers agreed that it was easy to use

and worked efficiently but the voice in Arabic for the commentator is neither

attractive nor interesting and couldn’t draw the students’ attention all the time.

The remark about the commentator’s voice was also mentioned by the students in

the focus groups, although the percentage of their answers collected by the

questionnaire as shown in figure (4.1.6) unveiled that 76% of the students agree that

the voice was clear in addition to 79% declared that the language is clear too.

Figure (4.1.6)

Q3. Teachers are exposed to new teaching methodologies in science

Eureka is friendly

Eureka is efficient

Pictures are clear

Language is clear

Voice is clear

97.40% 94.80% 100.00%

78.90% 76.30%

2.60% 5.30% 0.00% 5.30%

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

15.80% 23.70%

How did students assess Eureka

Agree Don’t know Disagree


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As for Jamil shaker school, teachers did not implement Eureka mainly due to the big

number of the students in the class (around 60 students), teachers said it’s not

practical to move the students to the computer lab as this will consume time and

distract the lesson, in addition to the fact that teachers have full work load.

As a result, it was noticed that girls’ schools demonstrated a perfect model of

employing new technology and maximize the benefit out of it in this project.


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5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations and conclusions are driven from the findings and the

implementation experience.

Students were fascinated by Eureka and this was reflected on their achievement

and understanding, therefore it’s strongly recommended to enroll Eureka in

other schools if applicable.

Based on the students and teachers experience, it’s recommended to change the

Arabic commentator’s voice, as its not attractive and not aligned with Eureka’s

scheme.

To ensure the proper operation of Eureka and due to the low specs of computers

in the public schools we recommend providing a proper laptop or computer with

sufficient specs to facilitate Eureka implementation

Some teachers found that Eureka is suitable for grade 7 students as well, so it’s

suggested to investigate the possibility of implementing it with other grades as

Eureka is good for grades 6-12

Eureka wasn’t accessible easily by teachers all the time to arrange for classes or

to prepare the lessons due to the fact that it was installed in the computer lab or

science lab only, so it’s recommended to make Eureka accessible from all school’s

facilities if applicable.

Teachers from Princess Taghred school and Dahiet Al Rashed school were very

keen and enthusiastic to use Eureka in the coming academic years, its suggested

to extend the license for the coming academic years as possible.

Teachers reported that it wasn’t easy to find a match between Eureka’s content

and the targeted subjects, a meeting with teachers at the onset of the semester

to clarify the list of matched lessons would help.

The short quiz (questions embedded in Eureka after the movie) motivated the

students to stay focused and stimulate the spirit of competition between them,

endorse this approach will help introduce this new education methodology.

Teacher’s commitments are very critical to guarantee the good employment of

Eureka, it’s recommended to closely follow up with teachers and to support them

whenever needed.


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Large classes over 35 students are not recommended to use Eureka as moving

from their classroom to the lab is not practical.

Based on the best practices of Eureka it’s recommended if applicable to

install it in the server and to make it available in every classroom via the

LAN, this will overcome the challenges of large classes and the needs to move to

other rooms inside the school.

One of Her Majesty's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah non-profit organizations

www.JEI.org.jo

Tel: +962 6 5502360 Fax: +962 6

5502370 P.O Box: 17979 Amman

11195

[email protected]

http://www.jei.org.jo/

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