The table below presents a timeline for the major categories of tasks to be completed. For simplicity, project staff is divided into content staff, production staff, and evaluation staff.

Timeline

Field Testing

Field testing, will be conducted for two purposes:
First, feedback on the usefulness of the CD-ROM set will be sought from a much broader sample of the target audience than used for the beta testing. As in the case of beta testing, volunteers will be sought from the target population – high school teachers and college faculty members in STEM fields. The volunteers will be provided a copy of the final version of the CD-ROM set in exchange for their participation.
The second purpose in field testing is to explore ways in which the CD-ROM set can be integrated into face-to-face professional development activities. The primary goal of this part of the field test is to develop sample materials for integrating the CD-ROM into classroom or professional development settings.

Dissemination

Presentations will be made at selected professional conferences for the purpose of recruiting individuals and/or organizations to participate in field testing. The range of professional organizations that could be targeted for dissemination efforts is relatively large. At the high school level, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) certainly provides the largest venue. However, the individual disciplines often have professional organizations that serve both high school teachers and college faculty who are primarily interested in teaching. Organizations concerned primarily with gender issues, such as the Association of Women in Science (AWIS) or Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network (WEPAN) offer additional venues, as well as American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Finally, project staff will identify a distributor, such as the Women’s Educational Equity Act Resource Center, to continue dissemination on a cost-recovery basis.