Evaluation of the education program for Supercomputing `95

Evaluation of the SC `95 Education Program indicated a very high level of satisfaction with all aspects of the program. Teachers viewed the hands-on sessions and the opportunity to network with other education professionals as the most valuable aspects of the program. Longer and a greater number of grade-appropriate hands-on lessons were requested for next year`s education program. Several suggestions related to programmatic issues for inclusion in future education programs were made by teachers attending SC `95. These include: greater variety of topics for K--5 teachers, a C++ session, repeat sessions for hot topics such as JAVA, and additional sessions on assessment and evaluation. In addition, survey respondents requested structured, small group sessions in which experts present information related to topics such as grant writing, formulating lesson plans, and dealing with technology issues as related to educational reform. If the purpose of the SC Education Program is in the advancement in applying and educating the nation`s youth in the power of computational science, then submissions for papers, panels, and hands-on sessions should be critically evaluated with that in mind. One suggestion for future planning includes offering sessions which are consistent with the grade and experience levels of teachers who will be attending the conference, such as more sessions for K-5 teachers. Before accepting sessions for presentation, consideration might also be given to what format (i.e., lecture, hands-on, small group discussion, etc.) would be appropriate to facilitate implementation of these programs in the classroom. As computational science and the use of technology in the classroom matures the SC Education Program, needs to be reexamined to target to provide information not available locally to the education community