Performance of students in project‐based science classrooms on a national measure of science achievement

Reform efforts in science education emphasize the importance of supporting students' construction of knowledge through inquiry. Project‐based science (PBS) is an ambitious approach to science instruction that addresses concerns of reformers. A sample of 142 10th‐ and 11th‐grade students enrolled in a PBS program completed the 12th‐grade 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science test. Compared with subgroups identified by NAEP that most closely matched our student sample, White and middle class, PBS students outscored the national sample on 44% of NAEP test items. This study shows that students participating in a PBS curriculum were prepared for this type of testing. Educators should be encouraged to use inquiry‐based approaches such as PBS to implement reform in their schools. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 410–422, 2002     

Conflict from teamwork in project‐based collaborative learning

This study investigated the conflict occurring during teamwork among college seniors in project‐based collaborative learning in a capstone course. It found that conflict emerged with poor communication, task management, and work allocation; unequal treatments among classmates; egocentricity; a clash of values; and lack of responsibility and initiative. To prepare graduating students for the workforce, teachers should equip them with essential skills and foster students' appropriate work attitude to improve performance.     

Achieving standards in urban systemic reform: An example of a sixth grade project‐based science curriculum

A challenge for urban systemic reform initiatives in science education has been to achieve local, state, and national standards for teaching and learning. We have collaborated with teachers in the Detroit Public School System to design project‐based curriculum materials that contextualize the learning of science in meaningful real‐world problems, engage students in science inquiry, and use learning technologies. We present a sixth grade project‐based science unit in which students explored the driving question “How Do Machines Help Me Build Big Things?” and address the science learning goals of balanced and unbalanced forces, simple and complex machines, and mechanical advantage. Twenty‐four teachers and over 2500 students in Detroit participated in enactments of this project over 4 years. Student learning outcomes were determined for the three learning goals and inquiry process skills using pre‐ and postachievement tests. Achievement outcomes as measured by the pre/posttest show significant and consistently high learning gains, even as participation in the project increased to include greater numbers of teachers and students in successive enactments, and leadership of the professional development support for this project transitioned from university researchers to district teacher leaders. These results illustrate that materials which contextualize learning and support student inquiry as part of an urban systemic reform effort can promote learning of important and meaningful science content aligned with standards. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 669–692, 2004     

Co‐constructing inquiry‐based science with teachers: Essential research for lasting reform

In this article we assert a potential research agenda for the teaching and learning of science as inquiry as part of the JRST series on reform in science education. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive and sociocultural constructivism, cultural models of meaning, the dialogic function of language, and transformational models of teacher education, we propose that more research is needed in the areas of teachers' beliefs, knowledge, and practices of inquiry‐based science, as well as, student learning. Because the efficacy of reform efforts rest largely with teachers, their voices need to be included in the design and implementation of inquiry‐based curriculum. As we review the literature and pose future research questions, we propose that particular attention be paid to research on inquiry in diverse classrooms, and to modes of inquiry‐based instruction that are designed by teachers. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 631–645, 2001     

Professional development in inquiry‐based science for elementary teachers of diverse student groups

As part of a larger project aimed at promoting science and literacy for culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students, this study has two objectives: (a) to describe teachers' initial beliefs and practices about inquiry‐based science and (b) to examine the impact of the professional development intervention (primarily through instructional units and teacher workshops) on teachers' beliefs and practices related to inquiry‐based science. The research involved 53 third‐ and fourth‐grade teachers at six elementary schools in a large urban school district. At the end of the school year, teachers reported enhanced knowledge of science content and stronger beliefs about the importance of science instruction with diverse student groups, although their actual practices did not change significantly. Based on the results of this first year of implementation as part of a 3‐year longitudinal design, implications for professional development and further research are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1021–1043, 2004     

In search of well‐started beginning science teachers: Insights from two first‐year elementary teachers

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore what aspects of two first‐year elementary teachers' practices were most consistent with an inquiry‐based approach, what PCK served as a mechanism for facilitating these practices, and what experiences have mediated the nature and development of these teachers' PCK. For each of the participants data included audio‐recorded interviews, video‐recorded classroom observations, lesson plans, and samples of student work. Data analysis illustrated that both participants engaged their students in question‐driven investigations, the use of observational data, making connections between evidence and claims, and communicating those claims to others. Moreover, there was clear evidence in the findings of the study that a considerable degree of coherence existed between the two participants' knowledge on one hand and their instructional practices on the other hand. The participants perceived specific learning experiences during their programs as being critical to their development. The contribution of this study lies in the fact that it provides examples of well‐started beginning elementary teachers implementing inquiry‐based science in 2nd and 5th grade classrooms. Implications of the study include the need for the design of university‐based courses and interventions by which teacher preparation and professional development programs support teachers in developing PCK for scientific inquiry and enacting instructional practices that are congruent with reform initiatives. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:661–686, 2010     

Making formative assessment discernable to pre‐service teachers of science

The purpose of this pragmatic action research study was to explore our re‐conceptualization efforts in preparing pre‐service teachers to guide the inquiry process with formative assessment and subsequently use the understandings to improve our teacher preparation program. The process was guided by two questions: to what extent did course re‐conceptualization efforts lead to a more informed understanding of formative assessment by pre‐service teachers and did strategies enacted in the re‐conceptualized methods course foster or hinder pre‐service teachers' understanding of formative assessment? Data from this study support the following findings: (1) a substantial pre‐ to post‐methods course difference was realized in the pre‐service teachers' understanding of formative assessment; (2) explicit and contextualized approaches to formative assessment in the methods course led to increased understandings by pre‐service teachers; (3) an implicit approach led to improvements in course structure but did not foster pre‐service teachers' understanding of the reflexive nature of formative assessment; and (4) a field‐based case study on elementary science teaching both hindered and fostered our efforts with formative assessment. This study yields implications for pre‐service teacher education on formative assessment. To foster pre‐service teachers' knowledge and skills, we suggest explicit instruction on formative assessment combined with case studies, field experiences, and ongoing reflection. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 402–421, 2010     

Retracted: Learning in troubleshooting of automotive braking system: A project‐based teamwork approach

The following article from British Journal of Educational Technology, ‘Learning in troubleshooting of automotive braking system: A project‐based teamwork approach’, by Janus S. Liang, first published online in Wiley OnlineLibrary ( http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com ) on 15 April 2011, has been retracted by agreement between the author, the journal Editor, Nick Rushby, and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to the inclusion of significant passages of unattributed material from other authors. Reference Liang, Janus S. (2012). Learning in troubleshooting of automotive braking system: A project‐based teamwork approach, British Journal of Educational Technology, 43, 2, 331–352. doi: 10.1111/j.1467‐8535.2011.01182.x     

“Maestro,what is ‘quality’?”: Language,literacy, and discourse in project‐based science

Recent curriculum design projects have attempted to engage students in authentic science learning experiences in which students engage in inquiry‐based research projects about questions of interest to them. Such a pedagogical and curricular approach seems an ideal space in which to construct what Lee and Fradd referred to as instructional congruence. It is, however, also a space in which the everyday language and literacy practices of young people intersect with the learning of scientific and classroom practices, thus suggesting that project‐based pedagogy has the potential for conflict or confusion. In this article, we explore the discursive demands of project‐based pedagogy for seventh‐grade students from non‐mainstream backgrounds as they enact established project curricula. We document competing Discourses in one project‐based classroom and illustrate how those Discourses conflict with one another through the various texts and forms of representation used in the classroom and curriculum. Possibilities are offered for reconstructing this classroom practice to build congruent third spaces in which the different Discourses and knowledges of the discipline, classroom, and students' lives are brought together to enhance science learning and scientific literacy. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 469–498, 2001     

Design‐based science and student learning

Design‐Based Science (DBS) is a pedagogy in which the goal of designing an artifact contextualizes all curricular activities. Design is viewed as a vehicle through which scientific knowledge and real‐world problem‐solving skills can be constructed. Following Anderson and Hogan's (1999) call to document the design of new science pedagogies, this goal of this article is twofold: (a) to describe DBS, and (b) to evaluate whether significant science knowledge was constructed during consecutive enactments of three DBS units. In this study, 92 students participated in the consecutive enactments of three different DBS units. The development of their scientific knowledge was assessed through posters and models constructed during the curricular enactments and by identical pre‐ and post‐instruction written tests. The posttests showed considerable gains compared with the pretests, while the models and posters show application of this newly constructed knowledge in solving a design problem. These positive results support efforts being made to restructure school science around inquiry‐based curricula in general and design‐based curricula in particular. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1081–1110, 2004     

Helping new science teachers with phone assistance for teachers of science (PATS)

This material is based upon work supported in part by a grant from the Southwestern Bell (SBC) Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the SBC Foundation.     

Investigating science learning for rural elementary school teachers in a professional‐development project through three distance‐education strategies

Distance education is a significant topic of discussion within institutions at all levels of education. It is not only significant in terms of finances and student enrollment but also in terms of meaningful learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of three distance‐education strategies for enhancing the science learning of 94 Midwestern elementary‐school teachers participating in a 5‐year professional‐development project. The three distance‐education strategies studied were interactive television with all presenters live in real time (live), interactive television with live discussions wrapped around videotaped presentations (video), and asynchronous, Web‐based sessions with streamed videotaped presentations supported by interaction through discussion boards (Web). A repeated measures design was used to analyze the science learning and attitudes of the study participants. Analysis of variance of participants' postsession science scores yielded differences (p < 0.05) on multiple‐choice and constructed‐response science subscales. Participants in the live mode outperformed participants in the Web and video modes on all three assessment types (multiple choice, constructed response, and vignettes). Participants in the Web mode outperformed participants in the video mode on multiple choice and constructed response. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 1019–1039, 2006     

Beliefs,attitudes, and intentions of science teachers regarding the educational use of computer simulations and inquiry‐based experiments in physics

The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) what effect the use of interactive computer‐based simulations (ICBSs), the use of laboratory inquiry‐based experiments (LIBEs), and the use of combinations of an ICBS and a LIBE, in a conceptually oriented physics course, have on science teachers' beliefs about and attitudes toward the use of these learning and teaching tools, as well as the effect on their intentions to incorporate these tools in their own future teaching practices, (b) science teachers' attitudes toward physics and the effect that the use of ICBSs and/or LIBEs have on teachers' attitudes toward physics, and (c) whether teachers' beliefs have an effect on their attitudes and whether their attitudes have an effect on their intentions. A pre–post comparison study and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) were used for this purpose. Results confirmed the TRA model that beliefs affect attitudes and these attitudes then affect intentions, and showed that science teachers' attitudes toward physics, the use of an ICBS, the use of a LIBE, and the use of a combination of an ICBS and an LIBE were highly positive at the end of the study. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 792–823, 2003