Effects of multiple follow-up contacts on usage of activities by participants in an Aerospace Education Services Program workshop

Scope and method of study. Fifty-one teachers attended one of two regular two-day Johnson Space Center Aerospace Education Services Program's professional development workshops during the first quarter of the 1997--98 school year. Twenty-three teachers were assigned to the group receiving multiple follow-up contacts, with the remaining 28 being assigned to the group not receiving follow-up contacts. The group receiving multiple follow-up contacts had seven monthly meetings while the other group had no extra contact. In the monthly meetings the participants were encouraged to discuss implementation concerns and solutions and to share ideas. During the initial workshop pre-questionnaires were filled out by the participants. At the end of the academic year post-questionnaires were mailed to the participants.;Findings and conclusions. Twenty-seven participants returned the questionnaires, 12 from the group receiving multiple follow-up contacts and 15 from the group not receiving multiple follow-up contacts. The groups were compared on the average number of aerospace activities done during the workshop replicated in the classroom, the average number of additional aerospace activities, and the increase in the percentage of time aerospace topics were used in the classroom. No significant difference was found between the groups. A majority of the participants reported using three or more presented activities, and over 80% reported an increase in the use of aerospace topics in the classroom.