Impact of the Science and Technology for Children curriculum in the Oshkosh area school district

School Science and Mathematics, Mar 2002 by Lattery, Mark Joseph, Lemberger, John, Herzog, Barbara

This study examines the instructional impact of National Science Resources Center's Science and Technology for Children curriculum in the Oshkosh Area School District. Specifically, the instructional effectiveness of four physical-science units for grades 1-4 were investigated. Students were pre- and posttested using a multiple-choice exam containing items adapted from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, National Association of Educational Progress, TerraNova, and other widely recognized sources. Results were compared with existing instructional materials. Extensive resources for data interpretation include audiotaped lessons, classroom observations, interviews with students and teachers, student-attitude surveys, and observations of teacher training. Results suggest that the adoption of this curriculum among experienced teachers in the district will provide little or no immediate gains on student achievement and potentially a slight decrease in student attitudes toward science.

School districts across the United States are under increasing pressure to perform well on state, national, and international standardized exams. At the same time, education researchers have all but abandoned penciland-paper methods as a means to assess hands-on science learning (Resnick & Resnick, 1992; Wiggins, 1989). The position of the authors of this paper is that traditional pencil-and-paper tests (including multiplechoice items and short answer questions) are useful for assessing student achievement on content objectives and even process skills (Feinberg, 1990; Meng & Doran, 1993). Evidence that hands-on science programs lead to better performance on traditional tests (for which these programs are not tuned) strengthens the case for science education reform when combined with other authentic measures of learning, such as performance assessment (Gabel, 1994, chapter 14, and references therein).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the National Science Resource Center's (1997) Science and Technology for Children (STC) curriculum in the Oshkosh Area School District. While extensive support materials and teacher training for the STC curriculum have existed in the region for over 10 years, studies of learning outcomes have only recently emerged (Saint Norbert College Survey Center, 2001). A study of STC effectiveness was also conducted in New England(Lesley College Program Evaluation and Research Group, 1992). This study provides a qualitative analysis only.

To estimate the potential impact of the STC curriculum in the district, we set out to answer the following questions: What gains in student achievement on standardized tests can be expected in the first year or so of implementation? What types of learning can be expected? How might this learning vary from classroom to classroom? What effect will STC materials have on student attitudes toward science?

Study Design

School Environment

This study was conducted in the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) during the fall of 1999. The OASD is known for its skilled and experienced teaching staff: 80% of teachers have 5+ years of experience; 35%+ hold graduate degrees; approximately 40% received specialized training in modern science pedagogy; and over 50% use hands-on science activities as the dominant form of instruction.

Research Participants

The student sample (grades 1-4, N = 325) represented seven public elementary schools. Class sizes ranged from 15 to 25 students. Most students came from middle-income homes, although the full range of incomes was represented.

Eight experienced teachers (research instructors) were selected to participate in this study (Appendix A). In addition to significant graduate work, six of eight instructors received training in inquiry-based science teaching through the Einstein Project (www.itol.com/ einstein) and/or the Activities That Integrate Math and Science (AIMS) program (www.aimsedu.org).

Content Focus

Four physical science STC units were evaluated in this study: Weather (Grade 1), Balance and Weighing (Grade 2), Motion and Design (Grade 3), and Electric Circuits (Grade 4). Units were selected on the basis of positive field reports and the content expertise of the research group.

Teacher Training

Prior to the study (summer of 1999), research instructors attended a 1-day workshop through the Einstein Project of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The workshop provided the same type and level of instruction that would be received by OASD teachers during the first year of STC implementation. Research instructors each received basic instruction in the STC unit at their grade level. Teacher observations of this training are given in Lattery, Lemberger, & Herzog (2001, Appendix 2).

Instruction

During the school year, instructors taught science twice per day: once using the STC materials (treatment group), and again using existing OASD materials (control group). Both treatment and control groups received about 50 minutes of instruction per day for 8 weeks. To control for individual student differences, students were pre- and posttested and learning gains were compared. To estimate possible class-personality effects, two teachers at each grade level participated in the study.