Curriculum

The goal of the GEODE project is to engage students in explorations around plate tectonics using both real-world data and simulations. The project produced the Seismic Explorer and Tectonic Explorer models and embedded them into a scaffolded online curriculum module that supports students' development of mechanistic and causal explanations around Earth's dynamic plate system and resulting geological formations. GEODE's tools help students connect the plate system to the thermodynamic and gravitational forces below Earth's surface

InSTEP is developing an online personalized professional learning platform to support teachers' growth in providing students learning opportunities in statistics and data science using key practices and processes with data. We are creating a scalable, accessible, and flexible approach aligned with research-based principles of effective professional learning. We use design principles for online teacher learning, and our materials are based on research on students' and teachers' learning in statistics and data science education.

We are studying the implementation and impact of Transition to Algebra (TTA), a year-long algebra support curriculum for underprepared 9th-graders. TTA responds to an urgent need for innovative approaches that foster success in algebra for high-need students. We are examining the impact of TTA on students' algebra achievement and attitudes toward mathematics, using a quasi-experimental design with propensity score analyses to reduce selection bias threats. We are also investigating how teachers use and adapt TTA.

Although several middle school science units are emerging with high ratings on an NGSS EQuIP review, few have been subjected to experimental or quasi-experimental study to examine their efficacy with teachers or students. We share the design specifications, development process, and research findings from a quasi-experimental test of a designed-for-NGSS middle school science unit. Treatment students outperformed comparison students on a test of three-dimensional learning (p = .019; d = .300).

Co-PI(s): Betty Stennett and Lindsey Mohan, BSCS Science Learning

The A-STEP project fosters collaboration between university faculty and pathway partners to implement common set of tools (Next Gen ASET Toolkit) across a science teacher training and development pathway. Partnerships across steps function under shared goals and paradigm shifts for pedagogical reform along the teacher pathway. A-STEP promotes change across our Networked Improvement Community (NIC) and the local pathway partners working with each university, ultimately impacting the enactment of the NGSS in respective K-12 classrooms.