Evaluating a Unit Aimed at Helping Students Understand Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity
Herrmann-Abell, Cari F.; Hardcastle, Joseph; Roseman, Jo Ellen (2019). Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (Toronto, Canada,. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED598354
-
examining641Students, grades9-12
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: November 2022
- Single Study Review (findings for Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity (MEGA))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with high individual-level non-response, but provides evidence of effects on individuals by satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the individuals in the analytic intervention and comparison groups.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Researcher-developed science test: matter, energy, and scientific practices |
Matter and Energy for Growth and Activity (MEGA) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
-0.42 |
-0.77 |
Yes |
|
|
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
-
7% English language learners -
Female: 48%
Male: 52% -
Race Asian 12% Black 9% Other or unknown 14% White 65% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 11% Not Hispanic or Latino 89% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in high school biology classrooms in two public schools in a school district in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
Study sample
The researchers randomly assigned 8 teachers to the intervention group and 7 teachers to the comparison group. Of the initial 735 students in teachers' classrooms at random assignment, a total of 641 students in grades 9-12 were included in the study: 404 in the intervention group and 237 in the comparison group. Approximately 52% were male and 7% were English learners. Sixty-five percent were White, 12% Asian, 9% Black, and 14% did not report race. Eleven percent were Hispanic or Latino and 89 percent were non-Hispanic or Latino.
Intervention Group
The intervention is a 12-week high school biology curricular unit designed to help students better understand the role of energy in chemical reactions that support growth and activity in living things. The unit includes instructional materials for students and supplementary resources and professional development for teachers. In the classroom, students observe changes in matter and energy in both physical and biological processes, such as the cycle of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis and breakdown in human muscles during exercise. They use models to understand how matter and energy change during chemical reactions and generate ideas about matter and energy changes in simple physical systems. Students make predictions about matter and energy changes during intense exercise, compare their predictions to data, and examine the biological processes involved in homeostasis.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison condition received instruction in matter and energy in biological systems using a curricular unit developed by teachers within their school district.
Support for implementation
All intervention teachers received 2 days of in-person professional development prior to delivering instruction in the unit's lessons.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).