Science inquiry and student diversity: Enhanced abilities and continuing difficulties after an instructional intervention

Lee, Okhee; Buxton, Cory A.; Lewis, Scott E.; LeRoy, Kathryn

doi:10.1002/tea.20141

Cited by 70 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Repeated exposure to standards-based instruction supported by highly specified and developed curriculum leads to additional learning gains, at least when science inquiry is pursued at multiple grade levels. This supports work by Lee et al (2006), who also found cumulative effects from continuing inquiry science instruction across grade levels on proximal curriculum-aligned assessments. This indicates that the more inquiry science instruction we are able to provide to students during their schooling, the larger the learning growth we will expect to see in achievement.…”

Section: Individual Student Achievementsupporting

confidence: 84%

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Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry‐based science curricula in the context of urban reform

et al. 2008

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Considerable effort has been made over the past decade to address the needs of learners in large urban districts through scaleable reform initiatives. We examine the effects of a multifaceted scaling reform that focuses on supporting standards based science teaching in urban middle schools. The effort was one component of a systemic reform effort in the Detroit Public Schools, and was centered on highly specified and developed project-based inquiry science units supported by aligned professional development and learning technologies. Two cohorts of 7th and 8th graders that participated in the project units are compared with the remainder of the district population, using results from the highstakes state standardized test in science. Both the initial and scaled up cohorts show increases in science content understanding and process skills over their peers, and significantly higher pass rates on the statewide test. The relative gains occur up to a year and a half after participation in the curriculum, and show little attenuation with in the second cohort when scaling occurred and the number of teachers involved increased. The effect of participation in units at different grade levels is independent and cumulative, with higher levels of participation associated with similarly higher achievement scores. Examination of results by gender reveals that the curriculum effort succeeds in reducing the gender gap in achievement experienced by urban African-American boys. These findings demonstrate that standards-based, inquiry science curriculum can lead to standardized achievement test gains in historically underserved urban students, when the curriculum is highly specified, developed, and aligned with professional development and administrative support. ß 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: [922][923][924][925][926][927][928][929][930][931][932][933][934][935][936][937][938][939] 2008

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Section: Individual Student Achievementsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Lee, Buxton, Lewis, and LeRoy (2006) measure the impact of an urban instructional intervention in grades 3-5 using matched pre-and post-tests, and find substantial learning gains. Their data also suggests a cumulative effect of the intervention as students participate over several years.…”

Section: Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry‐based science curricula in the context of urban reform

et al. 2008

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“…Inquiry in this manner is said to be an active learning process and 'something that students do, not that is done to them' (NRC 1996, 2). In the present study, inquiry is considered to be any combination of the activities described as inquiry by Cuevas et al (2005), Lee et al (2006), and NRC (1996, 2000. These are: identifying or refining questions, planning investigations, implementing investigative plans, proposing explanations and comparing explanations with scientific knowledge (concluding), and communicating reports.…”

Section: Scientific Inquirymentioning

confidence: 99%

The degree to which UAE primary science workbooks promote scientific inquiry

Al-Naqbi

2010

Research in Science & Technological Education

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This research investigated Grades 5 and 6 science workbooks for the degree to which they promote scientific inquiry abilities, opportunities that students had to acquire these abilities and the obstacles hindering students from implementing them. A document review technique and a constant comparative method were applied sequentially. A total of 58 instigative logs were scrutinized. Findings revealed that while the activities allowed students to use appropriate techniques and tools to collect and interpret data, and use their inquiry abilities related to implement investigation plans, they did not allow students real opportunities to formulate questions, plan for simple investigations, write conclusions, or communicate investigations. A total of 15 Grade 5 and 6 science teachers were asked to report their perceptions of the students' role in implementing identified abilities. A one-way analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant difference between students who individually implemented the inquiry abilities and students who were supported by the teacher or by other students. Obstacles that hindered students from implementing identified inquiry abilities included teachers' intensive supports, students' limited background or skills, and materials and instrument shortages. The study concluded with recommendations for policy, practice, and future research.

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“…Despite this, the research is scant specifically regarding EL and EC students and the exploration of the relationship between academic language and overarching conceptual understanding in science. However, a few researchers (e.g., [12,13,[26][27][28][29][30]) have provided solid evidence that inquiry-based instructions increase, in particular, ELs' and ECs' conceptual understanding of science, particularly when literacy is connected to science instruction. The inquiry-based instruction referred to in our study includes engaging ELs and ECs in practices such as asking questions, planning investigations, developing models, and interpreting data, all while promoting language and literacy skills.…”

Section: Literacy-infused Inquiry-based Science For Els and Ecsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Conceptual Understanding via Literacy-Infused, Inquiry-Based Science among Middle School English Learners and Economically-Challenged Students

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The overarching purpose of our study was to compare performances of treatment and control condition students who completed a literacy-infused, inquiry-based science intervention through sixth grade as measured by a big idea assessment tool which we refer to as the Big Ideas in Science Assessment (BISA). First, we determine the concurrent validity of the BISA; second, we investigate the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control English Learners (ELs), controlling for their performance in the pre-test; third, we analyze the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control non-ELs, controlling for their performance in the pre-test; and fourth, we examine the relationship between students' English language proficiency as measured by standardized assessment, and their performance in the BISA among ELs and non-ELs, respectively. Our findings indicate: (a) literacy-infused science lessons with big ideas, implemented through the tested intervention, improved students' language acquisition and science concept understanding for ELs and economically challenged students (ECs); (b) there was a positive relationship between language and content for both ELs and non-ELs, with a similar magnitude, suggesting that students with a higher level of English proficiency score higher in science assessment; and (c) the lesson plans prepared were successful for promoting a literacy-infused science curriculum via a 5E Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) that includes three to five of the Es used daily. A pedagogical approach for a literacy-infused science model with big ideas is proposed.

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Science inquiry and student diversity: Enhanced abilities and continuing difficulties after an instructional intervention

Cited by 70 publications

References 50 publications

Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry‐based science curricula in the context of urban reform

Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry‐based science curricula in the context of urban reform

The degree to which UAE primary science workbooks promote scientific inquiry

Assessing Conceptual Understanding via Literacy-Infused, Inquiry-Based Science among Middle School English Learners and Economically-Challenged Students

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