The Impact of Professional Development on Elementary Teachers’ Strategies for Teaching Science with Diverse Student Groups in Urban Elementary Schools

This study examined elementary teachers’ instructional strategies for promoting scientific understanding and inquiry and supporting English language development with diverse student groups including English language learners. The study was part of a 5-year research and development project consisting of reform-based science curriculum units and teacher workshops aimed at providing effective science instruction to promote students’ science and literacy achievement in urban elementary schools. Data consisted of 213 post-observation interviews with third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers. The teachers reported using instructional strategies to promote scientific understanding, but generally did not employ more sophisticated inquiry-based strategies. They also reported using instructional strategies to support English language development. There were significant differences among grade levels and by years of teacher participation.     

Improving science inquiry with elementary students of diverse backgrounds

This study examined the impact of an inquiry‐based instructional intervention on (a) children's ability to conduct science inquiry overall and to use specific skills in inquiry, and (b) narrowing the gaps in children's ability among demographic subgroups of students. The intervention consisted of instructional units, teacher workshops, and classroom practices. The study involved 25 third‐ and fourth‐grade students from six elementary schools representing diverse linguistic and cultural groups. Quantitative results demonstrated that the intervention enhanced the inquiry ability of all students regardless of grade, achievement, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), home language, and English proficiency. Particularly, low‐achieving, low‐SES, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) exited students made impressive gains. The study adds to the existing literature on designing learning environments that foster science inquiry of all elementary students. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 337–357, 2005     

An instructional intervention's impact on the science and literacy achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students

This research examined the impact of the first‐year implementation of an instructional intervention to promote achievement and equity in science and literacy for culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students. The research addressed three areas: (a) overall science and literacy achievement, (b) achievement gaps among demographic subgroups, and (c) comparison with national (NAEP) and international (TIMSS) samples of students. The research involved 1,523 third‐ and fourth‐grade students at six elementary schools in a large urban school district. Significance tests of mean scores between pre‐ and posttests indicate statistically significant increases on all measures of science and literacy at both grade levels. While achievement gaps widened with third graders on some of the measures, the gaps tended to narrow with fourth graders. The results based on item‐by‐item comparisons with NAEP TIMSS samples of students indicated overall positive performance of the students in the research at the end of the school year. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 857–887, 2005     

Changing middle school students' conceptions of matter and molecules

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to understand the conceptual frameworks that sixth-grade students use to explain the nature of matter and molecules, and (2) to assess the effectiveness of two alternative curriculum units in promoting students' scientific understanding. The study involved 15 sixth-grade science classes taught by 12 teachers in each of two successive years. Data were collected through paper-and-pencil tests and clinical interviews. The results revealed that students' entering conceptions differed from scientific conceptions in various ways. These differences included molecular conceptions concerning the nature, arrangement, and motion of molecules as well as macroscopic conceptions concerning the nature of matter and its physical changes. The results also showed that the students taught by the revised unit in Year 2 performed significantly better than the students taught by the original commercial curriculum unit in Year 1 for 9 of the 10 conceptual categories. Implications for science teaching and curriculum development are discussed.     

School Resources in Teaching Science to Diverse Student Groups: An Intervention’s Effect on Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions

Elementary school teachers’ perceptions of school resources (i.e., material, human, and social) for teaching science to diverse student groups were examined across three school districts from one state. As part of a 3-year curricular and professional development intervention, we examined the effect on teachers’ perceptions after their first year of participation. The study involved 103 fifth-grade teachers from 33 schools participating in the intervention and 116 teachers from 33 control schools. The teachers completed a survey at the beginning and end of the school year. As a result of the intervention, teachers in the treatment group reported more positive perceptions of school resources than teachers in the control group.     

Promoting Science Among English Language Learners: Professional Development for Today’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

We describe a model professional development intervention currently being implemented to support 3rd- through 5th-grade teachers’ science instruction in 9 urban elementary schools with high numbers of English language learners. The intervention consists of curriculum materials for students and teachers, as well as teacher workshops throughout the school year. The curriculum materials and workshops are designed to complement and reinforce each other in improving teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices in science instruction and English language development for ELL students. In addition to these primary goals, secondary goals of the intervention included supporting mathematical understanding, improving scientific reasoning, capitalizing on students’ home language and culture, and preparing students for high-stakes science testing and accountability through hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences.