This study uses a sample of 454 teachers engaged in an inquiry science program to examine the effects of different characteristics of professional development on teachers’ knowledge and their ability to implement the program. The authors analyzed results from a survey of teachers served by 28 professional development providers within a hierarchical linear modeling framework. Consistent with findings from earlier studies of effective professional development, this study points to the significance of teachers’ perceptions about how coherent their professional development experiences were for teacher learning and program implementation. The authors also found that the incorporation of time for teachers to plan for implementation and provision of technical support were significant for promoting program implementation in the program.

This research study examined whether and how professional development can help teachers design sequences of instruction that lead to improved science learning. The efficacy of three professional development programs and a control condition was compared in a cluster randomized trial involving 53 middle school science teachers from a single school district. The four conditions varied along two dimensions: (a) the extent to which the programs guided teachers' selection of curriculum materials and (b) whether or not teachers received explicit instruction in models of teaching associated with particular methods for designing instruction. Results indicated that the two programs most effective at improving students' science learning were the ones in which teachers received explicit instruction in models of teaching.

sets an ambitious vision for science learning by emphasizing that for students to achieve proficiency in science they will need to participate in the authentic practices of scientists. To realize this vision, all students will need opportunities to learn from high-quality curriculum materials where they engage in science practices. We report on our study of a middle school curriculum called Project-Based Inquiry Science that has some design features that match well with the new directions in science education. To measure the impact of these materials, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in sixth grade science classrooms across 42 schools in an urban school district. We randomly assigned schools to either a treatment condition where teachers implemented the project-based science curriculum or a comparison condition where teachers implemented the district-adopted textbook. Teachers in both conditions received professional development on the Framework. Students who participated in the project-based science curriculum outperformed students in the comparison curriculum on outcome measures that were aligned to core science ideas and science practices in the Framework. Importantly, the results show that project-based curriculum materials that incorporate science practices along with disciplinary content can help students achieve next generation science learning outcomes when there is coherence with district guidance about instruction. The study findings suggest that curriculum materials, district involvement, and support for teachers' implementation of new forms of instruction are important for realizing the vision and key principles of the Framework in the context of a large and diverse urban school district.

The authors present three studies (two randomized controlled experiments and one embedded quasi-experiment) designed to evaluate the impact of replacement units targeting student learning of advanced middle school mathematics. The studies evaluated the SimCalc approach, which integrates an interactive representational technology, paper curriculum, and teacher professional development. Each study addressed both replicability of findings and robustness across Texas settings, with varied teacher characteristics (backgrounds, knowledge, attitudes) and student characteristics (demographics, levels of prior mathematics knowledge). Analyses revealed statistically significant main effects, with student-level effect sizes of .63, .50, and .56. These consistent gains support the conclusion that SimCalc is effective in enabling a wide variety of teachers in a diversity of settings to extend student learning to more advanced mathematics.

Implementation of science curriculum materials has been a fundamental challenge in science education for decades. Policy researchers have argued that alignment of standards, curriculum, and assessment are the key to supporting implementation. This paper focuses on teachers' perceptions of curricular alignment and on curriculum implementation using empirical data from a statewide systemic inquiry science reform effort targeting students from kindergarten to eighth grade. We find that the success of alignment policies depends on teachers' construal of the relationship between standards and curriculum materials and on allocation of time for planning at the school level.