The perceived effects of Los Angeles Unified School District - Mathematics, Science, and Technology Centers (LAUSD - MSTC) on K-6 teachers'/students' science/technology/computer learning

General research has been inconclusive regarding the role that computers play in effective educational programs. Also, because of a lack of research information, it is currently difficult to assess whether California Technology Teacher Training Centers (CTTTCs) are perceived as effectively training teachers to teach their students the information learned in the CTTTCs. It is also unclear whether the training centers have set objectives to measure their success accurately.;Two CTTTC-program teachers from five different CTTTCs completed questionnaires. Six CTTTC-trained teachers from five different CTTTCs completed one portion of their questionnaires directly after finishing their CTTTC classes, and another portion after they had taught their K--6 students about the information they had learned at the CTTTCs. Two students from each of the thirty K--6 CTTTC-trained teachers' classrooms completed a questionnaire directly after the concepts had been taught to them by their CTTTC-trained teachers. When necessary, follow-up interview questions were discussed with all three groups of participants.;Ninety percent of the K--6 teachers stated that they would be able to incorporate what they had learned in class into their lesson plans. Even after teaching their K--6 students about the CTTTC information, 83% of the teachers indicated that the CTTTCs had adequately prepared them to train their students effectively in the subject matter. As the teachers were able to incorporate the information learned in their training classes into their lesson plans, it became evident that the CTTTCs had adequately prepared the teachers to instruct their students on the subject. The study also revealed that 63% of the K--6 teachers trained in the CTTTCs had technology support problems. Both the CTTTC instructors and the CTTTC-trained teachers agreed that access to computers and the Internet would definitely assist the teachers in learning the information taught in the CTTTCs. More importantly, access to computers and the Internet would be a valuable tool for the K--6 teachers to help teach their K--6 students the CTTTC related information.