A successful model of intensive professional development

in science and mathematics educationConstance K. Barsky

Learning by Redesign, Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 USA

Comparison of Responses about What Changes Will Most Improve Mathematics and Science Classes

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Fig. 2. A comparison of responses from subject specialists in urban school districts and urban university faculty about what would most improve mathematics and science classes clearly revealed that professional development and instructional strategies were most important for teachers.

Context for OhioTotal Population: 11,000,000

74% Urban 12% Appalachian 11% African American 1% Latino

K-12 Population: 1,700,00017% Ethnic minorities

Middle school population: 550,000School districts: 612

The Discovery modelThe Discovery model was based on two premises:

• that classroom teachers, particularly elementary and middle school teachers, were underprepared to teach science and mathematics successfully and

• that the needs of an increasingly diverse student population would require changes in teaching strategies to teach these students effectively.

The focus of the model was on sustained professional development, inquiry-based instruction, and inservice and pre-service education.

The Discovery goalThe goal of Discovery was to improve student learning of science and mathematics by providing teachers with the knowledge, skills, and information needed to change their individual teaching practices.

All of the program components were directed toward providing an effective and replicable professional development experience. These components were modeled on the experiences with the implementation of Physics by Inquiry by the Physics Education Group of the University of Washington. (1) A trainer of trainers model for scale up was based upon Reading Recovery leadership training in the US.

IntroductionThe Ohio Mathematics and Science Initiative, Project Discovery (1991-1996), was part of the US National Science Foundation Statewide Systemic Initiatives (SSI) program for improving the teaching and learning of science and mathematics. (Fig. 1) In addition to federal funding, Ohio received matching funds from the state legislature.

Program components

Summer institutes (6-weeks long) in mathematics, biology, and physical science were initially taught on two host site campuses, The Ohio State University and Miami University.

Leadership Teams, consisting of one faculty member from other universities and two K-12 teachers, were trained at the host sites to deliver duplicate institutes in each of eight regions.

Six academic year professional development seminars were conducted following the summer institutes.

Each teacher received 120-160 contact hours of training.

Principles of institutes

• Develop a sound understanding of basic biological, mathematical and physical science

• Develop a firm understanding of inquiry learning and teaching and cooperative learning

• Explore pedagogical implications of inquiry methods and cooperative learning at the middle school level

Impact on teachers

The expected outcomes of improved professional development included the transformation of behavior in the classroom that would be sustained over time, transferable to different contexts, and predictable in a wide variety of settings. It was also expected that the teachers would develop the ability to conduct action research in their classrooms and redesign curricula as appropriate.

Changes in teaching behavior and strategies were expected to result in improved student performance.

As part of Discovery’s independent evaluation, the attitudes toward inquiry, preparation to use inquiry and use of inquiry-based instructional practices by teachers was investigated over a four-year period using hierarchical linear modeling. By year four, data had been collected on 701 science teachers. These data included: individual teacher characteristics such as involvement in reform activities, years of experience, gender, ethnicity, and grade level; and school characteristics such as climate for reform, percentage of minority students, public or private funding.

After controlling for differences in initial status, teachers’ attitudes (Fig. 3), preparation, and practices (Fig. 4) strongly increased after involvement with Discovery with the gains sustained over time.

The physical science institute utilized Physics by Inquiry materials on properties of matter, heat and temperature, electrical energy and power, and light and optics. The mathematics institute topics were selected from those emphasized by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The life science institute was developed by faculty from colleges and universities in Ohio and covered a variety of topics.

Fig. 3. A positive and significant improvement in attitudes towards inquiry-based science teaching was observed for teachers participating in Discovery. The data was collected from before attending the Discovery institutes (Year 0) to one to three years following their training. Note that the changes were sustained over time. (2,3)

Impact on studentsEvaluation and assessment were critical components of the Discovery model. Several means of obtaining information from students were developed to assess classroom practices, attitudes towards science, and amount of science learning. The Landscape Study incorporated a multi-level design to combine a variety of qualitative and quantitative data. It utilized data sources such as questionnaires, tests, direct field-based observations, interviews, and artifacts collected during site visits (e.g., official school documents and brochures, books, handouts, program sheets, tests). Fig. 5 shows the demographics of the students that participated in the Landscape Study.

Fig. 5. Student demographics of schools participating in the Landscape Study compared to all Ohio schools.

Discovery Inquiry TestTo assess student learning, Discovery Inquiry Tests were developed from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) public release items for eighth grade science. The test questions, selected by Discovery faculty, stressed conceptual understanding and problem-solving. By the final year of SSI Discovery in 1996 over 5000 students had been tested using these materials. Additional tests were administered under the auspices of the Landscape Study through 1999, reaching 2000 more students. The test results demonstrated that the professional development offered by Discovery was correlated with a positive impact on student achievement, including minority students as represented by African-American students especially in urban settings.

Fig. 9. Students in classrooms taught by Discovery teachers, on average, demonstrated improved performance on the Discovery Inquiry Test developed from the public release items of the National Assessment of Education Progress (Discovery Brochure, 2000)

Fig. 10. African-American students of Discovery trained teachers demonstrated improved performance on the Discovery Inquiry Test developed from the public release items of the National Assessment of Education Progress. (Discovery Brochure, 2000)

Lessons learned• Improved student achievement is linked to changes in

teaching practices. Both majority and minority students benefit from changes in classroom attitudes and strategies. (3,5)

• Intensive professional development produces changes in classroom teaching attitudes and strategies that are sustained over time. (2,4)

• Research validated materials and strategies are replicable across sites and facilitators and the results are similar. (2,5)

Literature Cited1. McDermott, L.C., P.S. Schaffer and M.L. Rosenquist and the Physics

Education Group at the University of Washington (1996). Physics by Inquiry, Volumes I & II (John Wiley and Sons, New York).

2. Supovitz, J.A., D.P. Mayer and J. B.Kahle (2000). Promoting inquiry-based instructional practice: the longitudinal impact of professional development in the context of reform, Education Policy 14 (3) 331-356.

3. Damnjanovic, A. (1999). Attitudes toward inquiry-based teaching: Difference between pre-service and in-service teachers, School Science and Mathematics 99 (2) 71-76.

4. Kahle, J.B. and W. Boone (2000). Strategies to improve student science learning: implications for science teacher education, Journal of Science Teacher Education 11 (2) 9-107.

5. Kahle, J.B., J. Meece and K. Scantlebury (2000). Urban African-American middle school science students: Does standard-based teaching make a difference? Journal of Research In Science Teaching 37 (9) 1019-1041.

AcknowledgementsJane Butler Kahle, Lillian McDermott and the Physics Education Group of the University of Washington, Jan Upton, John Supovitz, Iris Weiss, Ken Wilson, Steven Katz, Discovery colleagues, Discovery teachers.

Funded by NSF Grants #OSR-91599969 (J.B. Kahle and K.G. Wilson, Co-PI), REC 9602137 (J.B. Kahle, PI), and the State of Ohio.

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Fig. 7. Differences in perceptions of classroom practices. (Discovery Brochure, 1996)

Fig. 8. Differences in the attitudes of students towards science and mathematics. (Discovery Brochure, 1995)

Fig. 4. A positive and significant increase in inquiry based teaching practices was observed for teachers participating in Discovery institutes. These changes were sustained over time, for both mathematics and science teachers. (2)

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In Ohio Discovery’s mission was to increase the quality of teaching and learning of science and mathematics through professional development of teachers in the context of overall systemic change (Fig. 2). The initial focus was on teachers of middle school grades (5-9) when all students are still enrolled in mathematics and science.

Fig. 1. Twenty five states and Puerto Rico were funded by the SSI of the National Science Foundation. Most received sustained funding for five years.

Discovery mission

“I don’t think you can do Project Discovery without becoming changed. If you believe in Project Discovery, there is no way you can go back to the way you were teaching before.” – Discovery teacher

By 1997 over 2000 teachers (Fig 6) had participated in Discovery institutes, probably reaching over 45,000 students. In 1995-1996, as part of the Discovery’s evaluation, teachers and students in over 100 randomly selected urban and rural schools across Ohio responded to questionnaires. In addition, science and mathematics classes were observed and student learning was assessed.

The Landscape Study

The questionnaires assessed attitudes about science and mathematics. Each Discovery teacher was paired with a non-Discovery teacher in the same school whose individual characteristics and classroom characteristics matched those of the Discovery teacher as closely as possible. The questionnaire responses of Discovery and non-Discovery participants were compared. In Fig. 7 the teachers responses are supported by those of their students. And in open-ended questions about classroom experiences, the students were able to articulate differences in classroom practice that reflected teaching methods related to increased understanding. In Fig. 8 student views about science and mathematics being more for boys than girls was observed to be significantly different for students of Discovery teachers as compared to students who were in classrooms without Discovery trained teachers.

Fig. 6. Locations of teachers who participated in Discovery institutes from 1992-1996. Heavier densities of dots represent counties of greater population (major cities in Ohio).

“Last year we had to memorize everything; this year we do it, and we have to know what we are doing. It’s harder this year, but we learn more.”

– Discovery student

Comparison of Discovery and Non-Discovery African-American Students in Mathematics

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