On the evaluation of systemic science education reform: Searching for instructional sensitivity

We propose a multilevel‐multifaceted approach to evaluating the impact of education reform on student achievement that would be sensitive to context and small treatment effects. The approach uses different assessments based on their proximity to the enacted curriculum. Immediate assessments are artifacts (students' products) from the enactment of the curriculum; close assessments parallel the content and activities of the unit/curriculum; proximal assessments tap knowledge and skills relevant to the curriculum, but topics can be different; and distal assessments reflect state/national standards in a particular knowledge domain. To provide evidence about the sensitivity of the multilevel approach in ascertaining outcomes of hands‐on science programs we administered close, proximal, and distal performance assessments to evaluate the impact of instruction based on two Full Option Science System units—Variables, and Mixtures and Solutions—in a Bay Area school district. Results indicated that close assessments were more sensitive to the changes in students' pre‐ to post‐test performance than proximal assessments. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 369–393, 2002     

A Facilitator's guide to career transition workshops for educators

Conclusions The teaching profession is in a state of flux which will continue until changes in salaries, security, and class size are adjusted and overall attractiveness of the profession increases. The CPPC is committed to offering the Career Alternatives for Educators workshop and encourages other career centers to do so. Assisting educators in choosing to remain in teaching, or to enter another field, may help to reduce teacher burnout, enhance teacher job satisfaction, and increase their effectiveness in the classroom. In addition, the workshop provides educators with a better understanding of their University system, increases their awareness and attention to the career development process, and provides better understanding of career opportunities. Career Centers' involvement in this is particularly logical given the role which educators play in their daily interaction with potential university students as teachers or parents. For a variety of reasons, an Alternative for Educators workshop is an important outreach effort for Career Centers, and is a rewarding role for them to play.     

CONSOLIDATING LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE

The article describes an experiential learning programme at the University School of Education, Newcastle upon Tyne, in which teams of postgraduate trainee teachers undertook problem solving placements in local businesses and public services. The evaluation revealed a contrast between high general satisfaction levels and low perceived relevance to teaching. This is analysed and discussed in relation to the perceptions student teachers develop during their training. The vital importance of briefing and debriefing in experiential programmes is emphasised, as an aid to learning when much of value is easily lost.     

Changes in Korean Science Teachers' Perceptions of Creativity and Science Teaching After Participating in an Overseas Professional Development Program

This study investigated changes in Korean science teachers' perceptions of creativity and science teaching after participating in an overseas professional development program. Participants were 35 secondary science teachers. Data were collected from open-ended questionnaires and interviews. Results indicated that participants showed a growing awareness that creativity can be expressed by every student; creativity can be enhanced; science has a much wider range of activities that foster creativity; and creativity-centered science teaching can be implemented in Korea. The major elements of the professional program that promoted these perceptual changes included hands-on creativity activities, observation of creativity-centered classrooms, and discussion with other teachers. Follow-up study revealed that their perceptual changes have been reflected in their teaching practices.     

Peer Teachers With Autism Teaching 3D Modeling

ABSTRACT

Few autism programmes address the needs of adolescents and young adults, and those that do are unlikely to include individuals with autism in the design and evaluation of the programme. This study involved nine youth with autism (ages 16–25) in the development and evaluation of a peer teaching programme where they taught three-dimensional modelling to other students with autism spectrum disorder. The methodology was participant-oriented research where the students with autism were co-designers and programme evaluators in the research. This approach highlighted their unique strengths and abilities and shifted the power such that they were leaders and not simply the recipients of knowledge from instructors. Four themes emerged through the qualitative analysis of the students’ perceptions of the peer teaching programme: 1) the meaning of peer teaching, 2) motivations for peer teaching, 3) challenges and 4) coping with the challenges of the role.     

The justification of compulsory religious education: a response to Professor White

Though religion continues to enjoy a global significance for humankind, any justification of the compulsory status of religious education must be made on the basis of reason rather than public consensus. We live in a pluralistic world in which contrasting world views, grounded in radically conflicting ontological assumptions, vie for our attention. This situation demands a critical religious education capable of enabling all pupils to achieve appropriate levels of religious literacy.     

Translating Laboratory Evidence into Classroom Practice with Teacher‐Led Randomized Controlled Trials—A Perspective and Meta‐Analysis

We initiated and structured a single program that supervised teachers, some with neuroscience or psychology degrees, to collaborate and explore the effects of science of learning‐translated pedagogy. This article reports on the 34 findings from teacher‐led randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and replications. Teachers designed trials, looking at areas such as attention, memory, and spaced learning. Overall, positive effects were found over short periods (1–6 weeks; r = 0.15, p < .0001 [d = 0.30], N = 2,157). However, retrieval practice (testing as a learning experience) had differential effects mediated by age, approach, and lesson content. Results suggest science of learning‐translated pedagogy needs extensive replication to establish how best to use laboratory evidence in classrooms. Multiple planned replication of teacher‐led RCTs has potential as an evaluation tool, combining high levels of mundane realism with strong internal validity and the potential to build cost effective large samples for meta‐analysis.