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.
In this paper, we investigate the potential and conditions for using curriculum adaptation to support reform of science teaching and learning. With each wave of reform in science education, curriculum has played a central role and the contemporary wave focused on implementation of the principles and vision of the Framework for K–12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012) is no exception. Curriculum adaptation—whereby existing curriculum materials are purposefully modified—may provide an important strategy for teacher leaders in schools and districts to support changes to teacher practice aligned with the vision of the Framework. Our study provides empirical evidence that under supportive district conditions and within a research–practice partnership, purposefully adapted curriculum materials can improve student understanding of science and that these are linked to shifts teachers make in classroom culture facilitated by augmented curriculum materials.
The Classroom Assessment Project to Improve Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) set out to understand how teachers attempt to modify their classroom practices as they grapple with new ideas about using assessment in their own classrooms to improve learning. CAPITAL documented the classroom activities and discussions among groups of middle school science teachers over four years. Through the stories of two of the teachers in the project, this article describes some of the variations in how the teachers in the project integrated, adapted and incorporated assessment for learning into their everyday teaching practice. We see Louise draw upon her background as a scientist to use student work as data that drive her teaching decisions, and we see Anthony approach his assessment work within a curricular framework with the ultimate goal of influencing his colleagues in the school district. The variations between the two teachers are significant, emphasizing the highly contextualized and personal nature of change for teachers.
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